Published
mound
vr.tr.mound · thing-q1584134
Let an agent identify mound types and their cultural meaning with attribution, describe archaeological and heritage protection, support respectful visiting, and separate garden and other senses.
Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.BLT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Identify What mound is this.
Type
Identifying a mound.
Type
Identification.
- What kind of mound is this, and what do archaeologists and local communities say about its purpose and date? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific mound? action
Traditions
Mound traditions.
Traditions
Traditions.
- What are traditions such as effigy mounds, enazuka, jusanzuka or fairy forts, as described by their cultures? provenance
- Which beliefs surround them, attributed to their communities? provenance
Respect Sacred and burial sites.
Burials
Burial mounds.
Burials
Burials.
- Which laws and ethical rules protect burial mounds and ancestral remains, including Indigenous repatriation rules? provenance
- Is the request seeking to dig or disturb a mound, which should be declined? boundary
Visit
Visiting mounds.
Visit
Visiting.
- How can mounds be visited respectfully, and which are open to the public? provenance
- Which etiquette do communities ask for? provenance
Study Archaeology.
Research
Investigating mounds.
Research
Research.
- How are mounds surveyed and investigated non-invasively, and what have excavations revealed? provenance
- Which debates exist about mound builders? boundary
Conserve
Conservation.
Conserve
Conservation.
- How are mounds conserved against erosion, ploughing and development? provenance
- Who is responsible here? provenance
Senses Other senses.
Garden
Garden mounds.
Garden
Garden mounds.
- How are mounds used in garden and landscape design? provenance
- How are they built? action
Other
Other meanings.
Other
Other meanings.
- Is a pitcher mound, a termite mound or a natural hillock meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.BLT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- jūsanzuka, Teso, enazuka, burial mound, fairy fort, effigy mound, platform mound
What it is Filled
A mound is an artificially raised heap of earth, gravel, sand, stones or debris, including heaps made for construction, landscaping, burial, ceremonial or memorial purposes; mounds with archaeological or cultural significance may be studied as heritage sites and protected as monuments.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent identify mound types and their cultural meaning with attribution, describe archaeological and heritage protection, support respectful visiting, and separate garden and other senses.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Raised form
- Often burial or ceremonial
- Culturally significant
- Protected
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Dig into, metal-detect, remove material from or disturb burials in a mound.
- Publish exact locations of unprotected sites in ways that invite looting.
- Treat sacred or folklore sites, such as fairy forts, as mere curiosities.
- Drive, plough or build on protected mounds.
Only with a human decision
- Excavation or works on or near a mound.
- Handling or repatriating human remains from burial mounds.
May
- Report a mound's location, type and protection status from monument records.
- Describe burial and sacred mounds with respect for the communities that hold them.
Moral aspects Filled
- Burial mounds hold the dead of past peoples, and their descendants may still care for them.
- Mounds are irreplaceable heritage lost to looting and ploughing.
Who is affected
- Descendant communities
- Landowners
- The public as heirs to heritage
Owners Filled
Steward
The landowner, with the heritage authority protecting scheduled monuments.
Master systems
- Heritage monument registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q112049379 - registry parent class
- Q12529452 - registry parent class
- Q4989906 - registry parent class
- Q811430 - registry parent class
related
- monument - category
- human-made landform - category
- earthworks - a form of earthwork
- summit - contrast with natural high points
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.mound
- Wikidata: Q1584134 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1584134)
Direct properties required Filled
- Height above surrounding ground: m - Measure the vertical difference between the summit and a documented surrounding ground reference.
- Footprint area: m2 - Measure the plan area enclosed by the surveyed base boundary.
- Material volume: m3 - Estimate volume from a surveyed surface and an explicitly defined underlying ground surface.
- Surface slope angle: degrees - Measure inclination relative to horizontal at documented locations because slopes vary across the mound.
Recognition required Filled
- A mound has the form of a raised heap.
- Evidence of human construction distinguishes this sense from natural heaps.
- A cairn is an artificial heap of loose stones.
- A rounded or shaped raised heap of earth or stone.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- identify mound types
- describe cultural meaning with attribution
- explain heritage protection
- support respectful visiting
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Looting and disturbance of burials
- Erosion and ploughing
- Disrespect toward sacred sites
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Monument and burial protection laws
- Indigenous heritage and repatriation laws
- Landscape design standards
Context of use required Filled
- Raised heaps as monuments, burials and features.
- burial mounds and barrows
- effigy and platform mounds
- memorial and ritual mounds
- folklore mounds such as fairy forts
- garden and landscape mounds
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1584134: mound - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Mound - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should burial mounds be a separate entry?
- How should monument registers be linked?
- How should Indigenous perspectives be attributed?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1584134/spec.json