PONE-D-23-06596The ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD): A large-scale research database serves as an indispensable tool for human evolutionary studiesPLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The manuscript presents an overview of and guide to using the ROAD database, developed by the ROCHEEH research center over the past 15 years. The concept behind the project was to compile data on archaeological occurrences between 3 million and 20,000 years ago to enable scientists to conduct large-scale analyses of spatial, temporal and cultural aspects of human expansions across Africa and Eurasia. The database has a free-to-use online search facility as well as allowing extended search capabilities to registered users. The manuscript details the rationale behind the database, its structure and features, and its application to research-questions. Finally, the future of the database is considered and the advantages and drawbacks of alternative storage methods and maintenance of the data are presented. As emphasized throughout the manuscript, strategies for effective data management and open access are a primary concern in current research design. Both the structure, replicability and accessibility of the database, and the project’s vision for the longer-term should serve as a model for similar initiatives across the sciences.

Since this is not a standard research article, I have few comments other than to commend the authors on creating a valuable open-source tool for the scientific community and presenting such user-friendly guides and features. Two very minor queries are:

Sect. 2.3, lines 273-275: I understand the need to score sampling/representativeness numerically in the database structure but is there anywhere for details to be given for individual cases or explain how scores are assigned?

Lines 284-5: “In general, archaeological finds are entered as groups of finds and not as single artifacts.”

Are symbolic artifacts given the same treatment? – the implication by nature of the artifact type is that these are entered individually. Add a few words to clarify.

Reviewer #2: The paper addresses the crucial issue of the utilisation of big data in archaeology, presenting the ROAD database of the ROCEEH team. The ROAD database is the container of a large masses of data covering many aspects of the Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans. The ROCEEH research group transformed 5020 titles into machine-readable data, ensuring their interoperability with others large dataset.

The authors clearly describe the structure of the database. It appears to be very well designed and is able to manage and relate heterogeneous data. Great attention has been paid to managing the different interpretations of the same data, guaranteeing comprehensive information to users. The software solutions adopted (e.g. PostgreSQL as DBMS) are appropriate, and the web user interface is intuitive and easy to use. Of note is the programming of APIs that allow ROAD to dialogue with other applications.

Minor issues

1 It is not clear how human remains are stored in the case of human bodies (and not a single item).

2 Stone artefacts tables raw_materials, typology, technology, function have a *list field. What kind of data do these fields store?

3 Statement between line 407 and 410 is not very clear.

4 It is not clear how the validation workflow works. Table 1 shows that quality control is guaranteed by user of level 4 (ROCEEH team members), but modalities are not specified in the text.

5 It is not clear stage of the process reached in incorporating ROAD into the Semantic Web.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Emily Hallinan

Reviewer #2: No

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The ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD): A large-scale research database serves as an indispensable tool for human evolutionary studies

PONE-D-23-06596R1

Dear Dr. Kandel,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Enza Elena Spinapolice, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: N/A

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: The authors answered all comments in full. The manuscript needs no further comments and can be published

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Reviewer #2: No

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