Digital Antiquity
Digital Antiquity (Center for Digital Antiquity) is an Arizona State University academic research center operating tDAR, a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository preserving approximately 411,000 archaeological records for academic archaeologists, CRM practitioners, and cultural heritage organizations worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersTempe, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Digital Antiquity does
Digital Antiquity, operating under its legal name the Center for Digital Antiquity, is an academic research center housed within Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Founded in 2008 and based in Tempe, Arizona, the center operates tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository designed to preserve and provide web-based access to digital archaeological records from investigations, organizations, projects, and research. The platform currently hosts approximately 411,000 resources, comprising 17,500 documents, 20,500 images, 2,000 datasets, and 470 GIS files, and has grown materially from a handful of initial collections.
The platform is engineered around FAIR+CARE data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable; Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) and offers documented ontologies, integration tools, controlled-access workflows for culturally sensitive material, and tools to analyze and reuse deposited data. Compliance is documented against the National Historic Preservation Act and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Beyond the repository itself, the center provides digital curation services, training workshops, and grant-related support to academic archaeologists, Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeologists, organizations, and individuals managing cultural heritage data.
As an ASU academic unit rather than a commercial entity, Digital Antiquity does not publicly disclose revenue or pricing; firmographics list 1–10 employees and no private funding rounds, suggesting funding derives from university support, grants, and workshop/training fees. The platform serves a global audience with a horizontal segmentation across academic researchers, compliance-driven CRM practitioners, and heritage organizations, positioned as the dedicated long-term archive layer for digital archaeological data.
Digital Antiquity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Digital Antiquity
- Legal name
- Center for Digital Antiquity
- Website
- https://digitalantiquity.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Digital Antiquity (Center for Digital Antiquity) is an Arizona State University academic research center operating tDAR, a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository preserving approximately 411,000 archaeological records for academic archaeologists, CRM practitioners, and cultural heritage organizations worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Digital Antiquity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Archaeological Repository
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Historical Sites (712120), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Records Digitization & Archiving (Legacy Files, Retention Support) (BPAAAKAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- National Archives, Records & Information Governance (BPAIAAAG), Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF), Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Document Scanning, Digitization & Archival Reproduction (Records, Transcripts, Microform) (EDAEAJAI)
Keywords
Where Digital Antiquity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tempe
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Digital Antiquity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Digital Antiquity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Digital Antiquity operates tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository that houses and makes accessible digital archaeological records from investigations, organizations, projects, and research. It provides tools to analyze and reuse digital archaeological data, currently housing 411,000 resources including documents, images, datasets, and GIS files. Supporting services include digital curation, training workshops, and grant-related support for archaeological data management.
Product overview
Digital Antiquity operates as an academic center offering a portfolio of products and services centered around digital archaeological data preservation and management. The core product is tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository that houses and provides access to digital archaeological records. Supporting services include tailored digital curation services, training workshops, and grant-related support for organizations and individuals. The platform follows FAIR+CARE data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable; Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) across cultural heritage disciplines.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record): A CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository designed to house and make accessible digital archaeological records from investigations, organizations, projects, and research.
Products and services
- tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record)
Companies that use Digital Antiquity
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Digital Antiquity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Digital Antiquity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Digital Antiquity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Internet Archive: Large-scale digital preservation nonprofit housing a wide variety of cultural, historical, and research content. While not archaeology-specific, it competes for the broader long-term digital preservation mandate and is a major player in the same digital stewardship space.
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): US federal agency responsible for preserving government records and providing public access. As the dominant national archival authority, it sets standards and policy that influence archaeological recordkeeping practices, overlapping with tDAR's records governance positioning.
- Digital Antiquity's direct federal counterpart - NPS Archeology Program: National Park Service's archaeology program maintains its own digital recordkeeping for federally-managed archaeological resources. It represents a federally-operated alternative pathway for archaeological data management, overlapping with tDAR's CRM customer segment.
- Europeana: European Union digital platform for cultural heritage, providing access to millions of digitized items from museums, libraries, and archives across Europe. It represents a regional, broad cultural heritage incumbent with overlapping digital access and preservation missions.
- Digital Public Library of America: National digital library aggregating cultural heritage materials from libraries, archives, and museums across the US. It overlaps with tDAR at the discovery and access layer for cultural heritage content, though it lacks the archaeological data curation depth.
Direct peers
- Archaeology Data Service: UK-based digital repository for archaeological research data, the most direct international peer. It provides long-term preservation and access to digital archaeological resources, operating a comparable certified digital repository model to tDAR.
- Open Context: Web-based publishing platform for structured archaeological data with editorial review. It serves the same core community of archaeological researchers and CRM professionals with web-based discovery and reuse tools, directly competing for the same publishing workflow.
- ARIADNE: European infrastructure integrating archaeological datasets from multiple repositories across the EU. It competes with tDAR by aggregating and providing federated access to archaeological data, overlapping on the digital repository and discovery use case.
Emerging players
- Zenodo: General-purpose open research data repository operated by CERN that issues DOIs and supports any discipline. It intersects with tDAR for archaeological data deposits but lacks the domain-specific compliance, certification, and curation depth that tDAR provides to CRM archaeologists.
- Figshare: Research data management and sharing platform used by academic institutions globally. While not archaeology-specific, it is increasingly adopted by researchers and institutions as an alternative for publishing and preserving research outputs including archaeological data.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Digital Antiquity social profiles
Digital presenceDigital Antiquity compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Digital Antiquity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Digital Antiquity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Digital Antiquity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Digital Antiquity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Digital Antiquity
What does Digital Antiquity do?
Digital Antiquity operates tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), a CoreTrustSeal Certified digital repository that houses and makes accessible digital archaeological records from investigations, organizations, projects, and research. It provides tools to analyze and reuse digital archaeological data, currently housing 411,000 resources including documents, images, datasets, and GIS files. Supporting services include digital curation, training workshops, and grant-related support for archaeological data management.
Is Digital Antiquity a public or private company?
Digital Antiquity is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Digital Antiquity founded?
Digital Antiquity was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Digital Antiquity based?
Digital Antiquity is headquartered in Tempe, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Digital Antiquity's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Internet Archive, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Digital Antiquity's direct federal counterpart - NPS Archeology Program, Europeana and Digital Public Library of America. Direct peers are Archaeology Data Service, Open Context and ARIADNE. Emerging players are Zenodo and Figshare.
Does Digital Antiquity have an API?
No public API is recorded for Digital Antiquity.
What industry is Digital Antiquity in?
Digital Antiquity's product category is Digital Archaeological Repository. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAAAKAG, Records Digitization & Archiving (Legacy Files, Retention Support), with a secondary code of BPAIAAAG, National Archives, Records & Information Governance. Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 7374.