Reviewing IGSN Metadata Standards for Archaeological and Heritage Samples

active 5/1/2026 -

Description

This TWG focuses on evaluating existing metadata profiles within the community for the registration of IGSN IDs (International Generic Sample Numbers) in the context of archaeology and cultural heritage. It was designed as a work package of the ongoing TRAIL project [“IGSN Identifiers: A Sustainable PID Strategy for Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Samples”] (https://www.nfdi4objects.net/trails/IGSN_Identifier_second_TRAILs/).

The goal is to raise awareness of IGSN as a system for the persistent identification of material samples within the NFDI4Objects community and, at the same time, to develop a common basis for their description. The results of this work are intended to help create the conditions for a long-term IGSN service in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage.

The TWG will examine and compare existing community standards and metadata profiles for the description of physical samples within the framework of IGSN registration. The focus will be on the “Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Community of Practice” and the “Heritage Sample Digital Archive,” which were developed for the registration of physical samples via DataCite. In addition, other relevant standards and approaches within NFDI4Objects will be taken into account, including the “N4O Minimal Metadata Set” and the “Conservation Metadata” developed in TA4.

The recommended metadata profile is presented in various NFDI4Objects workspaces for expert feedback. Its practical applicability is tested using specific use cases involving physical samples from different object and material groups, including archaeometallurgical finds, ancient DNA samples, and conservation materials. The examples are intended to illustrate how such samples can be described appropriately and consistently for IGSN registration.

In addition, a core set of controlled vocabularies is discussed and recommended, which can be used to consistently populate appropriate metadata fields for IGSN IDs. This is intended to improve both the efficiency and the quality of data cataloging. Existing terminologies can be used, for example, for material types (Art & Architecture Thesaurus), time periods (PeriodO), researchers (ORCID), organizations (ROR), and locations (GeoNames and Getty TGN).

In addition, crosswalks are provided between general metadata schemas such as DataCite, Dublin Core, and [schema.org] (https://schema.org/) as well as subject-specific schemas such as TerraLID, the N4O Minimal Metadata Set, and conservation metadata. The goal is to improve interoperability between different data sources and metadata structures.

Aim

Create online complementary documentation for the IGSN metadata schema, managed through version control on GitHub.
Publish metadata crosswalks between different community schemas on Zenodo.
Present and register use cases from archaeometallurgy, conservation, bioarchaeology on an online sample registry platform.