GMEOW Archaeological Evidence Module

• IRI: https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/slices/archaeological-evidence
• Tier: extension
• Group: extensions

What This Slice Covers

This slice owns 37 terms and contributes 15 mapping or projection rows. Use it when its terms match the native fact you want to preserve; use the linkage tables to see how those facts leave GMEOW for consumer vocabularies.

Dependencies

• gmeow:slices/events
• gmeow:slices/kernel
• gmeow:slices/language
• gmeow:slices/observations
• gmeow:slices/places
• gmeow:slices/temporal

Consumers

• Inscription readings and find contexts; the languages stress corpus.

Local Map

Examples

Inscription Reading

• Source: slices/extensions/archaeological-evidence/examples/inscription-reading.ttl
• GMEOW terms: gmeow:InformationObject, gmeow:Inscription, gmeow:InscriptionReading, gmeow:Language, gmeow:Person, gmeow:PhysicalObject, gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution, gmeow:WritingSystem, gmeow:attributedLanguage, gmeow:attributedScript

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Blackcat Informatics® Inc. <paudley@blackcatinformatics.ca>
# SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0
#
# Worked example: a damaged inscription has many defensible readings (, P9).
# An gmeow:Inscription sits on a physical gmeow:carrierType (tablet, coin, seal …).
# Reading it is not a fact but a reified gmeow:InscriptionReading — an Observation
# with its own vantage and method — so two epigraphers' transcriptions of the same
# worn marks COEXIST, neither privileged. A gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution
# (cuneiform / Akkadian) is likewise a vantage-scoped claim, not a settled label.
@prefix gmeow: <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/> .
@prefix ex:    <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/examples/archaeological-evidence/> .
@prefix rdfs:  <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .

ex:tablet a gmeow:PhysicalObject ;
    rdfs:label              "Clay tablet AO-3"@en ;
    gmeow:carrierType       gmeow:carrierTablet ;
    gmeow:carrierInscription ex:inscription .

ex:inscription a gmeow:Inscription ;
    gmeow:inscriptionCarrier ex:tablet .

ex:smith a gmeow:Person ; gmeow:name "Dr. A. Smith"@en .
ex:jones a gmeow:Person ; gmeow:name "Dr. B. Jones"@en .

# --- Two contested readings of the same worn inscription (P9).
ex:readingSmith a gmeow:InscriptionReading ;
    gmeow:readingOf         ex:inscription ;
    gmeow:readingResult     ex:transcriptSmith ;
    gmeow:vantage           ex:smith ;
    gmeow:observationMethod gmeow:methodExpertJudgement .

ex:readingJones a gmeow:InscriptionReading ;
    gmeow:readingOf         ex:inscription ;
    gmeow:readingResult     ex:transcriptJones ;
    gmeow:vantage           ex:jones ;
    gmeow:observationMethod gmeow:methodExpertJudgement .

ex:transcriptSmith a gmeow:InformationObject ; rdfs:label "…šarru rabû…"@en .
ex:transcriptJones a gmeow:InformationObject ; rdfs:label "…šarru danну…"@en .

# --- Script + language attribution: also a reified, vantage-scoped claim.
ex:cuneiform a gmeow:WritingSystem ; rdfs:label "Cuneiform"@en .
ex:akkadian  a gmeow:Language ; rdfs:label "Akkadian"@en ; gmeow:bcp47Tag "akk" .

ex:attribution a gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution ;
    gmeow:attributionTarget  ex:inscription ;
    gmeow:attributedScript   ex:cuneiform ;
    gmeow:attributedLanguage ex:akkadian ;
    gmeow:vantage            ex:smith ;
    gmeow:observationMethod  gmeow:methodExpertJudgement .

Terms

Classes

Properties

Individuals

Linkages

• Rows: 15
• Projection profiles: -
• External vocabularies: crm, crmarc, crminf, crmsci, oa, prov

Guide

Archaeological & Cultural-Heritage Evidence — modelling & interoperability guide

Archaeological objects are evidence carriers, not language facts by themselves. The physical carrier, the visible marks, the observation/documentation event, the reading, the transliteration, the translation, the dating evidence, the stratigraphic / find context, and the linguistic interpretation must remain separable claims (Principle 9).

This guide explains the language-facing hooks that connect GMEOW's lexicon, attestation, and etymology layers to archaeological and cultural-heritage evidence. General archaeological domain modeling (excavation units, stratigraphic interfaces, artifact typology) is deferred to archaeological-domain model.

The layer stack

Each layer is a distinct node in the graph. No single layer asserts truth for another. A PhysicalObject does not "have a language"; an Inscription does not "have a date"; a Reading does not "have a find-spot". These are all mediated by reified Observation subclasses that carry gmeow:vantage, gmeow:confidence, gmeow:hasDeterminacy, and gmeow:accordingTo.

Critical anti-pattern

Never assert "this object is in language X" as unqualified truth when the evidence is actually "scholar/team Y reads this mark as X, with confidence Z, in context C."

Bad (flat, truth-asserting):

# WRONG — collapses carrier, inscription, and interpretation into one claim
ex:tablet1 ex:claimedLanguage ex:sumerian .

Good (layered, standpoint-scoped):

ex:tablet1 a gmeow:PhysicalObject ;
    gmeow:carrierType gmeow:carrierTablet .

ex:inscription1 a gmeow:Inscription ;
    gmeow:inscriptionCarrier ex:tablet1 .

ex:attribution1 a gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution ;
    gmeow:attributionTarget ex:inscription1 ;
    gmeow:attributedLanguage ex:sumerian ;
    gmeow:attributedScript ex:cuneiform ;
    gmeow:vantage ex:scholarA ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.85 ;
    gmeow:hasDeterminacy gmeow:determinacyCrisp .

The first form is a category error: a physical object does not have a language. The second form keeps every claim attributed, dated, and confidence-weighted (Principle 9).

Competing claims coexist

Two scholars may read the same inscription differently, assign it to different languages, or date it to different periods. In GMEOW, these are co-existing observations, not edit-war candidates.

ex:readingA a gmeow:InscriptionReading ;
    gmeow:readingOf ex:inscription1 ;
    gmeow:readingResult ex:formA ;
    gmeow:vantage ex:scholarA ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.75 .

ex:readingB a gmeow:InscriptionReading ;
    gmeow:readingOf ex:inscription1 ;
    gmeow:readingResult ex:formB ;
    gmeow:vantage ex:scholarB ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.60 .

Both readings are retained. Projection layers may select one for a specific consumer, but the canonical source never erases the other (Principle 10: suppression via gmeow:displayable false, never deletion).

Undeciphered and uncertain cases

An inscription in an undeciphered script (Linear A, Rongorongo, proto-cuneiform) carries a gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution with gmeow:attributedNotation but no gmeow:attributedLanguage or gmeow:attributedScript. Its determinacy is gmeow:determinacyDisputed and its confidence is low.

ex:linearA a gmeow:NotationSystem .

ex:undecipheredAttribution a gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution ;
    gmeow:attributionTarget ex:inscription2 ;
    gmeow:attributedNotation ex:linearA ;
    gmeow:hasDeterminacy gmeow:determinacyDisputed ;
    gmeow:vantage ex:scholarC ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.40 .

There is no canonical winner and no requirement to assign a language. The notation system stands on its own as a first-class gmeow:NotationSystem.

Hooks into the lexicon layer

UsageAttestation → PhysicalObject

The gmeow:attestedOnCarrier property links a gmeow:UsageAttestation to a gmeow:PhysicalObject, creating the bridge from lexical evidence to archaeological evidence.

ex:attestation a gmeow:UsageAttestation ;
    gmeow:attestedForm ex:lexicalForm ;
    gmeow:attestedInSource ex:publishedEdition ;
    gmeow:attestedOnCarrier ex:tablet1 ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.90 .

EtymologicalDerivation → inscription evidence

An etymological claim may cite a gmeow:UsageAttestation (or the gmeow:InscriptionReading directly) as gmeow:derivationEvidence.

ex:derivation a gmeow:EtymologicalDerivation ;
    gmeow:derivationSource ex:ancestorWord ;
    gmeow:derivationTarget ex:descendantWord ;
    gmeow:derivationKind gmeow:derivationBorrowing ;
    gmeow:derivationEvidence ex:attestation ;
    gmeow:confidence 0.65 .

LanguageState → inscription

A gmeow:LanguageState may describe the language of an inscription at a particular historical moment, reusing the existing language-state machinery.

Projection lossy drops

When projecting the archaeological evidence stack to surface vocabularies, the following information is deliberately dropped (Principle 4):

Alignment summary

Terms

gmeow:Inscription · gmeow:inscriptionCarrier · gmeow:carrierInscription · gmeow:carrierType

The sign-bearing content or mark on a carrier — an InformationObject informationally distinct from the PhysicalObject that bears it; multiple inscriptions may coexist on one carrier and competing readings coexist without privilege (P9). inscriptionCarrier (functional) names the one bearer; its inverse carrierInscription (non-functional) the marks a carrier bears; carrierType classifies the carrier from the PhysicalCarrierType vocabulary.

gmeow:InscriptionReading · gmeow:readingOf · gmeow:readingResult

A scholarly reading of an inscription — the Observation (and gufo:Relator) that produces a lexical form from a sign-bearing feature, a standpoint-scoped claim not ground truth. readingOf (functional, ⊑ observedFeature) names the source inscription; readingResult (non-functional, ⊑ observationResult) the form(s) produced, with competing readings coexisting (P9).

gmeow:InscriptionTransliteration · gmeow:transliterationOf · gmeow:transliterationResult

A transliteration of an inscription into another script — an Observation mapping sign sequences between writing systems. transliterationOf (functional) names the source; transliterationResult the form(s) produced, with competing schemes (e.g. Hepburn vs Kunrei-shiki) coexisting without a single winner (P9).

gmeow:InscriptionTranslation · gmeow:translationOf · gmeow:translationResult

A translation of an inscription into another language — an Observation producing a form that represents the source's meaning. translationOf (functional) names the source; translationResult the form(s), with competing translations coexisting without privilege (P9).

gmeow:ScriptLanguageAttribution · gmeow:attributionTarget · gmeow:attributedLanguage · gmeow:attributedScript · gmeow:attributedNotation

A standpoint-scoped claim assigning a language, writing system, or notation to an inscription — handling disputed, uncertain, and undeciphered cases. attributionTarget (functional) names the inscription; attributedLanguage and attributedScript (non-functional) the assignments, with competing classifications coexisting (P9); attributedNotation carries an undeciphered or symbol-classified system (Linear A, Rongorongo, proto-cuneiform) when no language or script is yet linked.

gmeow:ArchaeologicalFindContext · gmeow:findContextTarget · gmeow:findContextPlace · gmeow:findContextStratigraphy · gmeow:findContextDating · gmeow:findContextEvent

A reified find context binding a carrier to its find-spot, stratigraphic unit, dating evidence, and documentation event — multiple coexisting context claims from different campaigns are allowed (P9). findContextTarget (functional) names the carrier; findContextPlace the find-spot; findContextStratigraphy the layer (opaque Entity reference, general stratigraphy deferred to the archaeological-domain model); findContextDating the TemporalMeasurement(s); findContextEvent the excavation or documentation event (deliberately not subsumed under observationResult, since gufo:Event and gufo:Endurant are disjoint).

gmeow:PhysicalCarrierType

The archaeological or cultural-heritage classification of an inscribed carrier — an open value vocabulary of individuals (tablet, ostracon, seal, coin, manuscript, wall inscription, stela, papyrus, pottery sherd, bone, metal, wood), never subclasses; new carrier kinds are minted without ontology modification.

Tests

• tests/test_archaeological_evidence.py — structural and DL-safety guards.
• tests/fixtures/shapes/archaeological-evidence.ttl — SHACL-valid instance data.
• tests/fixtures/coverage/archaeological-evidence.ttl — competency-test coverage data.