“It’s All in the Wrist (Bones)” was our first Creative Series Digital Data Story and we usually highlight it during October.
This exercise is best suited to those with an interest in public archaeology, the dynamics of ritual behavior, or the archaeology of central China. Users should have a basic understanding of archaeological data types, but little previous experience with archaeology is required.
This page provides access to the resource in two ways. The first is through a series of digital documents that represent the complete Digital Data Story. These include the following:
A single PDF for the combined Digital Data Story materials is available here. Secondary access to the above listed materials is available through the Digital Data Stories code repository on Codeberg. These markdown files represent the source material for the text and primary images within the digital documents, minus additional formatting, and with only a general placement of images. These may be altered and forked from the Codeberg repository for custom use with different data sets and this code represents our commitment to open science and transparency in our process.
These materials, either through the single-PDF publication of record, dynamic digital documents, or the code, are designed to be used synergistically. However, any piece of this Digital Data Story may be used separately or re-ordered according to the requirements of the individual or for specific educational goals. It’s All in the Wrist (Bones), and its resources, are available free to use, under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY). This Digital Data Story also references other resources such as Of Mycenaean Men (CC BY).
Thank you so much for using our educational resources! If you or your participants have the time, please consider contributing an open peer review to our ongoing process. Such updates will be noted here, and will be first available through the code repository and dynamic documents prior to updates to the PDF publication of record.
To attribute this Digital Data Story or any of its parts, please use our suggested citation:
Paulina F. Przystupa and L. Meghan Dennis, 2023, “It’s All in the Wrist (Bones): Archaeological Data as Artistic Inspiration”, Data Stories Program, Alexandria Archive Institute / Open Context, Published Online, DOI: https://doi.org/10.6078/M7N877XP.
First published: July 2023
Page Updated: October, November, and December 2025 – This Digital Data Story underwent major revisions and is now released as Version 2.0. Version 2.0 involved the conversion of the individual parts of the Digital Data Story into dynamic Google Documents that, alongside the Codeberg repository, may be updated in the future prior to the creation of a new PDF publication of record. The PDF publication of record now routes to Version 2.0, with an archived Version 1.0 available on Zenodo at https://zenodo.org/records/15751729. Major edits include updates to the text, higher resolution images, the addition of Credits and References sections, and other changes documented by comparing Version 1.0 to Version 2.0. This page has been updated as well, to add a suggested citation alongside other minor edits and image updates.
Image credit: “AAI-OC_DataStoryPublished_Header-AllIntheWrist_2025″ by L. Meghan Dennis from the Data Literacy Program (DLP) / CC BY includes copies of “DLP Sticky Note” by L. Meghan Dennis from the DLP with attribution information forthcoming.
