Systematics, Taxonomy and Management: A Case Study on the Implementation of a Digital Repository in the Collection of Natural Heritage in the Amazon

Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Systematics, Taxonomy and Management: A Case Study on the Implementation of a Digital Repository in the Collection of Natural Heritage in the Amazon Ir a la versión en español Índice / Contents DOI: 10.30763/Intervencion.287.v2n28.66.2023 • YEAR 14, ISSUE NO. 28: 120-147 Submitted: 25.05.2022 • Accepted: 11.12.2023 • Jéssica Tarine Moitinho de Lima Published: 16.02.2024 Bárbara Sepúlvreda Federal University of Pará (ufpa), Brazil Federal University of Pará (ufpa), Brazil orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2481-1225 orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9946-286X Sue Anne Regina Ferreira da Costa Federal University of Pará de Pará (ufpa), Brazil | orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3314-5148 Translated by Richard Addison ABSTRACT Technological innovations have become part of everyday life, making it impossible to manage collections without considering its benefits. This research article discusses the implementation of Tainacan, a computerized museum documentation system in the Natural Heritage Collection of the Universidade Federal do Pará (ufpa, Universidade Federal do Pará), in the Brazilian Amazon. This process employed a four-step methodology, including the research of the collection’s documentation history, analysis of its technical characteristics, and interdisciplinary discussions with experts to construct and treat data. It also details the difficulties which arose from the transition from a previous documentation method to a fully digital platform. Photography: Blanca Cárdenas, 2019; courtesy: Nara Palace Site Historical Park, Heijokyu Izanaikan Guidance Center, Showroom 3. The results indicate that using digital platforms positively impacts the efficiency and quality of data management and access. KEYWORDS documentation, natural history collection, Tainacan, university heritage 120 CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents Photography: Blanca Cárdenas, 2019; courtesy: Nara Palace Site Historical Park, Heijokyu Izanaikan Guidance Center, Showroom 3. I n recent decades, technological innovations have become an integral part of daily life, both in private and public contexts so that it is almost impossible to consider the possibility of not taking advantage of the benefits of information technology (Lima & Silva, 2022, p. 14).1 In recent years, we have witnessed a significant transformation in the manner in which collections and museums engage with documentation. This shift has been catalyzed by the ever-expanding realm of the internet and the burgeoning influence of cyberculture. Gone are the days when documentation was confined to physical records and insular museum walls. The digital age has ushered in an era where documentation transcends physical boundaries, allowing for unprecedented accessibility, interactivity, and global reach. Museums and collections, once siloed in their practices, now embrace the opportunities of the virtual realm, revolutionizing how they curate, share, and engage with their invaluable cultural and natural heritage. This dynamic evolution underscores the growing significance of adapting to the digital landscape. Preserving scientific achievements is crucial for humanity’s development, as it encompasses tangible and intangible knowledge from nature to space, known as Scientific Heritage. This includes artifacts, specimens, and exhibits that preserve our understanding of science and technology throughout time, known as cultural heritage of Science and Technology. These elements are featured in collections containing precious documents and books, including museums, observatories, gardens, and landscapes (Lima, 2021, p. 17; Granato, Ribeiro & Araújo, 2017, p. 17; Lourenço & Wilson, 2013, p. 745; Museu, 2017, p. 3). Here, we will examine how each component contributes to safeguarding our scientific heritage. Systematics, taxonomy, and management are everyday terms used in a collection of scientific heritage linked to natural history, also part of the cultural heritage of Science and Technology. Here, these themes are articulated to demonstrate this case study of the implementation of the, Tainacan, in a natural heritage collection belonging to the museum course at the Federal University of Pará (ufpa). The ufpa is the largest public university in the Amazon, established by Law No. 3.191 on July 2, 1957, with the mission to create and disseminate knowledge in the region, fostering an inclusive and sustainable society (Universidade, s. d.). This institution offers an undergraduate course in museology linked to the Faculty of VisuThis article follows the standards of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (abnt) and specifically nbr 6023-2018 - Information and documentation: References- Elaboration 1 Systematics, Taxonomy and Management: A Case Study on the Implementation of a Digital Repository… CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 121 Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents Photography: Blanca Cárdenas, 2019; courtesy: Nara Palace Site Historical Park, Heijokyu Izanaikan Guidance Center, Showroom 3. al Arts. The museology course plays a crucial role in research and extension programs supporting this case of study, with professionals and students mostly from this course. The course’s interest and fruition cycle extends beyond the collection’s valuation within the course to the community’s. The Natural Heritage Collection (nhc/ufpa) began in 2017 under the demand to safeguard fossils donated by paleontological rescue campaigns at a limestone mining company located in the State of Pará. However, this was not the only way used to acquire scientific items for the collection. Some of them are also conducted in outcrops in the same state. These are carried out as undergraduate disciplines, together with museology course students, but also through research and extension projects, scholarship holders, and volunteers who work in the technical reserve (Lisboa et al., 2019, p. 2). The nhc/ufpa has an extensive paleontology collection, and in May 2023, it registered more than 700 assets, with material from the Pirabas Formation. This stratigraphic unit occurs on the coast of the State of Pará to Piauí and represents the best record of the Brazilian marine Cenozoic (Araujo, Rodrígues & Neto, 2010, p. 208). Fossils deposited in the collection were mostly marine or estuarine, represented by mollusk shells, echinoderm shells, fish teeth, decapods, bryozoans, and sirenian bone fragments, among others. The potential for expansion of this collection extends to other typologies within the extensive nature area, including co llections in zoology, botany, and geology. Universities have formed collections that are crucial to building a scientific herit (...truncated)