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Typing

Within CIDOC CRM, typing an entity describes using a standardized path to link any entity to an external vocabulary source, thesauri, or ontology by linking a E1_CRM_Entity to an E55_Type using the property P2_has_type. Most ontologies are intended to focus on high-level entities (classes) and relationships (properties) needed to describe data infrastructure, and do not specialize beyond this immediate purpose. Consequently, a class assigned by the entity type might not be sufficiently specific to describe the entity for end users. By assigning a type through linking to domain–specific vocabulary sources—or a local vocabulary designed for a specific dataset—sufficient granularity is introduced into the dataset to ensure usability for users.

Examples​

  • University of Saskatchewan Art Gallery: The following TTL snippet refers to an artwork. It is given a type using crm:P2_has_type, which specifies that this entity is a photograph, a work of art, and a colour photograph, using the external Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus.
<https://saskcollections.org/kenderdine/Detail/objects/4201> a crm:E22_Human-Made_Object ;
        rdfs:label "Gyhldeptis, Spirit of the Cedar"@en ;
        crm:P2_has_type <http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300046300> ,
   <http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025> ,
<http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300128359> .

Further Resources​