457 A Database for Radiocarbon Dates. Some Methodological and Theoretical Issues about its Implementation Kiqt Dqifcpqxk5. Lwcp Cpvqpkq Dctegn„ cpf Ikceqoq Ecrw¦¦q Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain Abstract: Databases constitute a fundamental element for archaeological heritage management. Our project pretends vq gzcokpg cpcn{vkecn vgejpkswgu dcugf qp vgejpqnqikgu qh ctvkÝekcn kpvgnnkigpeg. Dc{gukcp uvcvkuvkeu vq nkpm fk♭gtgpv ctejcgqnqikecn fcvc dcugu cpf kpvgitcvg kp qpg qrgtcvkxg u{uvgo fcvc fkuugokpcvgf kp jwpftgfu qh fk♭gtgpv Ýngu cpf ugtxgtu0 Cu c ecug uvwf{ yg wug vjg tgegpv tghgtgpvkcn fcvc dcug qh tcfkqogvtke fcvgu for prehistory of north-east of Iberian Peninsula. In the case of dating our most remote past archaeologists should associate analytical samples dated by C14, with archaeological materials, some of them dated on stylistic grounds, and with contexts archaeologically excavated and ordered stratigraphically. Our project addresses the concept of “telearchaeology” as the essential condition for conversion of archaeological heritage from mute “stones” into what it should be: a basis for knowledge. KeyWords: Radiocarbon, Database, Bayesian Statistics, Knowledgebase 1. Introduction Archaeological objects by themselves do not make the past and do not transmit anything. In order to “make them speak about the past”, knowledge about the proper history of such an item (Appadurai 1986), i.e. knowledge about all its conditions and aspects related to it, is indispensable. Knowledge about heritage stands even when the object itself doesn’t exist (as in intangible heritage), or doesn’t exist anymore. The location of artefacts in space and time is a starting point for building the network of relationships between observable remains of human activity in the past. The main pillar for interpretation of past social actions is a fgÝpkvkqp qh ejtqpqnqikecn htcogyqtm. ukpeg kv is impossible to understand the history without mpqykpi vjg vgorqtcn cpf ecwucn Þwz qh fk♭gtgpv gxgpvu0 Vq tgncvg dkvu qh ctejcgqnqikecn record and make a congruent history out of it, we need one complex and multidisciplinary architecture of analytical procedures, based on computer technology and statistical analysis tools and methods. Relating information on Corresponding author: igor.bogdanovic@uab.cat a right way we can generate knowledge about questions of our interest. Information is not knowledge but knowledge is impossible without information. Building of archaeological knowledge requires ordered and structured information from many sources. We approach this task starting from the process of data construction and preservation according to the concept of Telearchaeology (BogdanoviJ 4224=Dctegn„.Dqifcpqxk5.Xkegpvg 2004; Barceló, BogdanoviJ, Piqué 2004), which is conceived as a set of computational concepts, solutions and tools for connection, integration and manipulation of heterogeneous data distributed on the World Wide Web, and which is aimed to generate archaeological knowledge kp c ugnh/uw♪ekgpv yc{0 Kp vjku ykfgn{ qrgp cloud of archaeological knowledge, the idea of “publishing” and knowledge construction gets a new sense. Telearchaeology is an open framework to discuss the publication of data, theories and interpretations in the most g♪ekgpv yc{ vjtqwij vjg hqtocnk¦cvkqp cpf systematization of datasets, and by using interoperability drivers and connections to fk♭gtgpv fcvcdcugu qt qvjgt eqpvgpvu ctqwpf