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A Critical Examination of Data Processing in Archaeology, with an Evaluation of a New Inverted Data System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jacques Bordaz  and
Victoria Bordaz
Jacques Bordaz
Affiliation:
New York University, New York, New York
Victoria Bordaz
Affiliation:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York
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Abstract

Even a cursory examination of data-processing methods currently used in archaeology indicates that there is a great need for a low-cost system that allows the investigator to study large masses of data without abandoning the units of archaeological analysis with which he is familiar. The authors recommend the use of a new system, Termatrex, which is a simple semiautomatic system that involves perforated cards and a light source for information retrieval. Termatrex is an inverted data-recording and searching system, with a virtually unlimited memory, which can be used at a desk. At present, Termatrex is the only system that provides true random access, continuous feedback between the investigator and his data, and compatibility with the standard digital computers.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , April 1966 , pp. 494 - 501
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1966

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