Envisioning networked provenance data storytelling with American cuneiform collections

Cuneiform tablets remain founding cornerstones of two hundred plus collections in American academic institutions, having been acquired a century or more ago under dynamic ethical norms and global networks. To foster data sharing, this contribution incorporates empirical data from interactive ArcGIS and reusable OpenContext maps to encourage tandem dialogues about using the inscribed works and learning their collecting histories. Such provenance research aids, on their own, initiate the narration of objects’ journeys over time while cultivating the digital inclusion of expert local knowledge relevant to an object biography. The paper annotates several approaches institutions are or might consider using to expand upon current provenance information in ways that encourage visitors’ critical thinking and learning about global journeys, travel archives, and such dispositions as virtual reunification, reconstructions, or restitution made possible by the provenance research.