The University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures has launched a new initiative, which brings together data science, AI and the humanities to transform how scholars study the ancient world.
The ISAC Data Research Center represents a major step forward in the Institute’s century-long tradition of pioneering research on the civilizations of the ancient Middle East and North Africa. It integrates ISAC’s research archives and databases into a unified center dedicated to supporting digital scholarship, open access, and computational research across disciplines.
“This is a transformative step for ISAC and for the study of ancient cultures,” said Prof. Timothy P. Harrison, director of ISAC. “The Data Research Center gives our researchers, students and collaborators the tools to connect data across disciplines—from archaeology and linguistics to geoscience and computer science—redefining how we explore the human past.”
The launch of the Data Research Center marks a new phase in ISAC’s evolution into a 21st-century research institute where ancient materials meet modern methods. By combining traditional scholarship with state-of-the-art digital tools, ISAC is positioning itself and UChicago as a global leader in the digital study of ancient civilizations.
Through the center, ISAC researchers and collaborators can access, visualize and analyze vast digital assets including more than a million records documenting the ancient world. These data resources underpin new work in natural language processing, geospatial modeling, and cultural heritage preservation, creating opportunities for discovery at scales previously impossible.
“The Data Research Center gives our researchers, students and collaborators the tools to connect data across disciplines.”
— Prof. Timothy P. Harrison, director of ISAC
“Our goal is not only to protect and share ISAC’s extraordinary collections,” said Foy Scalf, director of the Data Research Center, “but to make them computationally meaningful to allow new insights to emerge through the integration of data, context and technology.”
The center consolidates ISAC’s longstanding strengths in collections-based and textual research with new capabilities in artificial intelligence, data science and digital infrastructure. It supports a growing portfolio of projects, including a digital transformation of the century-long Chicago Assyrian Dictionary project, as well as the Aqaba Glass Database, the Ancient Egyptian Demonology Project, and the ISAC excavations in northern Iraq.
Building bridges across disciplines
The center works closely with the University Library, UChicago IT Services and the Research Computing Center to ensure robust digital infrastructure for research and preservation. It also collaborates with the Forum for Digital Culture, directed by Prof. David Schloen; the Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes, directed by Asst. Prof. Mehrnoush Soroush; and the Chicago Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation, directed by Prof. Gil Stein.
