CRM Entity
type: Class
notation: E1
comment: This class comprises all things in the universe of discourse of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model. It is an abstract concept providing for three general properties: Identification by name or appellation, and in particular by a preferred identifier Classification by type, allowing further refinement of the specific subclass an instance belongs to Attachment of free text for the expression of anything not captured by formal properties With the exception of E59 Primitive Value, all other classes within the CRM are directly or indirectly specialisations of E1 CRM Entity.
subclass of: Thing

Temporal Entity
type: Class
notation: E2
comment: This class comprises all phenomena, such as the instances of E4 Periods, E5 Events and states, which happen over a limited extent in time. This extent in time must be contiguous, i.e., without gaps. In case the defining kinds of phenomena for an instance of E2 Temporal Entity cease to happen, and occur later again at another time, we regard that the former E2 Temporal Entity has ended and a new instance has come into existence. In more intuitive terms, the same event cannot happen twice. In some contexts, these are also called perdurants. This class is disjoint from E77 Persistent Item. This is an abstract class and has no direct instances. E2 Temporal Entity is specialized into E4 Period, which applies to a particular geographic area (defined with a greater or lesser degree of precision), and E3 Condition State, which applies to instances of E18 Physical Thing.
subclass of: CRM Entity
subclass of: Observable Entity

Period
type: Class
notation: E4
comment: This class comprises sets of coherent phenomena or cultural manifestations occurring in time and space. It is the social or physical coherence of these phenomena that identify an E4 Period and not the associated spatiotemporal extent. This extent is only the "ground" or space in an abstract physical sense that the actual process of growth, spread and retreat has covered. Consequently, different periods can overlap and coexist in time and space, such as when a nomadic culture exists in the same area and time as a sedentary culture. This also means that overlapping land use rights, common among first nations, amounts to overlapping periods. Often, this class is used to describe prehistoric or historic periods such as the "Neolithic Period", the "Ming Dynasty" or the "McCarthy Era", but also geopolitical units and activities of settlements are regarded as special cases of E4 Period. However, there are no assumptions about the scale of the associated phenomena. In particular all events are seen as synthetic processes consisting of coherent phenomena. Therefore E4 Period is a superclass of E5 Event. For example, a modern clinical E67 Birth can be seen as both an atomic E5 Event and as an E4 Period that consists of multiple activities performed by multiple instances of E39 Actor. As the actual extent of an E4 Period in spacetime we regard the trajectories of the participating physical things during their participation in an instance of E4 Period. This includes the open spaces via which these things have interacted and the spaces by which they had the potential to interact during that period or event in the way defined by the type of the respective period or event. Examples include the air in a meeting room transferring the voices of the participants. Since these phenomena are fuzzy, we assume the spatiotemporal extent to be contiguous, except for cases of phenomena spreading out over islands or other separated areas, including geopolitical units distributed over disconnec…
subclass of: Temporal Entity
subclass of: Spacetime Volume

Event
type: Class
notation: E5
comment: This class comprises changes of states in cultural, social or physical systems, regardless of scale, brought about by a series or group of coherent physical, cultural, technological or legal phenomena. Such changes of state will affect instances of E77 Persistent Item or its subclasses. The distinction between an E5 Event and an E4 Period is partly a question of the scale of observation. Viewed at a coarse level of detail, an E5 Event is an ‘instantaneous’ change of state. At a fine level, the E5 Event can be analysed into its component phenomena within a space and time frame, and as such can be seen as an E4 Period. The reverse is not necessarily the case: not all instances of E4 Period give rise to a noteworthy change of state.
subclass of: Period

Activity
type: Class
notation: E7
comment: This class comprises actions intentionally carried out by instances of E39 Actor that result in changes of state in the cultural, social, or physical systems documented. This notion includes complex, composite and long-lasting actions such as the building of a settlement or a war, as well as simple, short-lived actions such as the opening of a door.
subclass of: Event

Modification
type: Class
notation: E11
comment: This class comprises all instances of E7 Activity that create, alter or change E24 Physical Man-Made Thing. This class includes the production of an item from raw materials, and other so far undocumented objects, and the preventive treatment or restoration of an object for conservation. Since the distinction between modification and production is not always clear, modification is regarded as the more generally applicable concept. This implies that some items may be consumed or destroyed in a Modification, and that others may be produced as a result of it. An event should also be documented using E81 Transformation if it results in the destruction of one or more objects and the simultaneous production of others using parts or material from the originals. In this case, the new items have separate identities. If the instance of the E29 Design or Procedure utilized for the modification prescribes the use of specific materials, they should be documented using property P68 foresees use of (use foreseen by): E57 Material of E29 Design or Procedure, rather than via P126 employed (was employed in): E57 Material.
subclass of: Activity
subclass of: Alteration

Production
type: Class
notation: E12
comment: This class comprises activities that are designed to, and succeed in, creating one or more new items. It specializes the notion of modification into production. The decision as to whether or not an object is regarded as new is context sensitive. Normally, items are considered “new” if there is no obvious overall similarity between them and the consumed items and material used in their production. In other cases, an item is considered “new” because it becomes relevant to documentation by a modification. For example, the scribbling of a name on a potsherd may make it a voting token. The original potsherd may not be worth documenting, in contrast to the inscribed one. This entity can be collective: the printing of a thousand books, for example, would normally be considered a single event. An event should also be documented using E81 Transformation if it results in the destruction of one or more objects and the simultaneous production of others using parts or material from the originals. In this case, the new items have separate identities and matter is preserved, but identity is not.
subclass of: Modification
subclass of: Beginning of Existence
subclass of: Physical Genesis

Attribute Assignment
type: Class
notation: E13
comment: This class comprises the actions of making assertions about properties of an object or any relation between two items or concepts. This class allows the documentation of how the respective assignment came about, and whose opinion it was. All the attributes or properties assigned in such an action can also be seen as directly attached to the respective item or concept, possibly as a collection of contradictory values. All cases of properties in this model that are also described indirectly through an action are characterised as "short cuts" of this action. This redundant modelling of two alternative views is preferred because many implementations may have good reasons to model either the action or the short cut, and the relation between both alternatives can be captured by simple rules. In particular, the class describes the actions of people making propositions and statements during certain museum procedures, e.g. the person and date when a condition statement was made, an identifier was assigned, the museum object was measured, etc. Which kinds of such assignments and statements need to be documented explicitly in structures of a schema rather than free text, depends on if this information should be accessible by structured queries.
subclass of: Activity

Measurement
type: Class
notation: E16
comment: This class comprises actions measuring physical properties and other values that can be determined by a systematic procedure. Examples include measuring the monetary value of a collection of coins or the running time of a specific video cassette. The E16 Measurement may use simple counting or tools, such as yardsticks or radiation detection devices. The interest is in the method and care applied, so that the reliability of the result may be judged at a later stage, or research continued on the associated documents. The date of the event is important for dimensions, which may change value over time, such as the length of an object subject to shrinkage. Details of methods and devices are best handled as free text, whereas basic techniques such as "carbon 14 dating" should be encoded using P2 has type (is type of:) E55 Type.
subclass of: Attribute Assignment

Physical Thing
type: Class
notation: E18
comment: This class comprises all persistent physical items with a relatively stable form, man-made or natural. Depending on the existence of natural boundaries of such things, the CRM distinguishes the instances of E19 Physical Object from instances of E26 Physical Feature, such as holes, rivers, pieces of land etc. Most instances of E19 Physical Object can be moved (if not too heavy), whereas features are integral to the surrounding matter. An instance of E18 Physical Thing occupies not only a particular geometric space, but in the course of its existence it also forms a trajectory through spacetime, which occupies a real, that is phenomenal, volume in spacetime. We include in the occupied space the space filled by the matter of the physical thing and all its inner spaces, such as the interior of a box. Physical things consisting of aggregations of physically unconnected objects, such as a set of chessmen, occupy a number of individually contiguous spacetime volumes equal to the number of unconnected objects that constitute the set. We model E18 Physical Thing to be a subclass of E72 Legal Object and of E92 Spacetime volume. The latter is intended as a phenomenal spacetime volume as defined in CRMgeo (Doerr and Hiebel 2013). By virtue of this multiple inheritance we can discuss the physical extent of an E18 Physical Thing without representing each instance of it together with an instance of its associated spacetime volume. This model combines two quite different kinds of substance: an instance of E18 Physical Thing is matter while a spacetime volume is an aggregation of points in spacetime. However, the real spatiotemporal extent of an instance of E18 Physical Thing is regarded to be unique to it, due to all its details and fuzziness; its identity and existence depends uniquely on the identity of the instance of E18 Physical Thing. Therefore this multiple inheritance is unambiguous and effective and furthermore corresponds to the intuitions of natural language. The CIDOC C…
subclass of: Legal Object
subclass of: Spacetime Volume
subclass of: Material Substantial

Physical Man-Made Thing
type: Class
notation: E24
comment: This class comprises all persistent physical items that are purposely created by human activity. This class comprises man-made objects, such as a swords, and man-made features, such as rock art. No assumptions are made as to the extent of modification required to justify regarding an object as man-made. For example, a “cup and ring” carving on bedrock is regarded as instance of E24 Physical Man-Made Thing.
subclass of: Physical Thing
subclass of: Man-Made Thing

Conceptual Object
type: Class
notation: E28
comment: This class comprises non-material products of our minds and other human produced data that have become objects of a discourse about their identity, circumstances of creation or historical implication. The production of such information may have been supported by the use of technical devices such as cameras or computers. Characteristically, instances of this class are created, invented or thought by someone, and then may be documented or communicated between persons. Instances of E28 Conceptual Object have the ability to exist on more than one particular carrier at the same time, such as paper, electronic signals, marks, audio media, paintings, photos, human memories, etc. They cannot be destroyed. They exist as long as they can be found on at least one carrier or in at least one human memory. Their existence ends when the last carrier and the last memory are lost.
subclass of: Man-Made Thing

Place
type: Class
notation: E53
comment: This class comprises extents in space, in particular on the surface of the earth, in the pure sense of physics: independent from temporal phenomena and matter. The instances of E53 Place are usually determined by reference to the position of “immobile” objects such as buildings, cities, mountains, rivers, or dedicated geodetic marks. A Place can be determined by combining a frame of reference and a location with respect to this frame. It may be identified by one or more instances of E44 Place Appellation. It is sometimes argued that instances of E53 Place are best identified by global coordinates or absolute reference systems. However, relative references are often more relevant in the context of cultural documentation and tend to be more precise. In particular, we are often interested in position in relation to large, mobile objects, such as ships. For example, the Place at which Nelson died is known with reference to a large mobile object – H.M.S Victory. A resolution of this Place in terms of absolute coordinates would require knowledge of the movements of the vessel and the precise time of death, either of which may be revised, and the result would lack historical and cultural relevance. Any object can serve as a frame of reference for E53 Place determination. The model foresees the notion of a "section" of an E19 Physical Object as a valid E53 Place determination.
subclass of: CRM Entity

Dimension
type: Class
notation: E54
comment: This class comprises quantifiable properties that can be measured by some calibrated means and can be approximated by values, i.e. points or regions in a mathematical or conceptual space, such as natural or real numbers, RGB values etc. An instance of E54 Dimension represents the true quantity, independent from its numerical approximation, e.g. in inches or in cm. The properties of the class E54 Dimension allow for expressing the numerical approximation of the values of an instance of E54 Dimension. If the true values belong to a non-discrete space, such as spatial distances, it is recommended to record them as approximations by intervals or regions of indeterminacy enclosing the assumed true values. For instance, a length of 5 cm may be recorded as 4.5-5.5 cm, according to the precision of the respective observation. Note, that interoperability of values described in different units depends critically on the representation as value regions. Numerical approximations in archaic instances of E58 Measurement Unit used in historical records should be preserved. Equivalents corresponding to current knowledge should be recorded as additional instances of E54 Dimension as appropriate.
subclass of: CRM Entity

Type
type: Class
notation: E55
comment: This class comprises concepts denoted by terms from thesauri and controlled vocabularies used to characterize and classify instances of CRM classes. Instances of E55 Type represent concepts in contrast to instances of E41 Appellation which are used to name instances of CRM classes. E55 Type is the CRM’s interface to domain specific ontologies and thesauri. These can be represented in the CRM as subclasses of E55 Type, forming hierarchies of terms, i.e. instances of E55 Type linked via P127 has broader term (has narrower term). Such hierarchies may be extended with additional properties.
subclass of: Conceptual Object

Beginning of Existence
type: Class
notation: E63
comment: This class comprises events that bring into existence any E77 Persistent Item. It may be used for temporal reasoning about things (intellectual products, physical items, groups of people, living beings) beginning to exist; it serves as a hook for determination of a terminus post quem and ante quem.
subclass of: Event

Thing
type: Class
notation: E70
comment: This general class comprises discrete, identifiable, instances of E77 Persistent Item that are documented as single units, that either consist of matter or depend on being carried by matter and are characterized by relative stability. They may be intellectual products or physical things. They may for instance have a solid physical form, an electronic encoding, or they may be a logical concept or structure.
subclass of: Persistent Item

Man-Made Thing
type: Class
notation: E71
comment: This class comprises discrete, identifiable man-made items that are documented as single units. These items are either intellectual products or man-made physical things, and are characterized by relative stability. They may for instance have a solid physical form, an electronic encoding, or they may be logical concepts or structures.
subclass of: Thing

Legal Object
type: Class
notation: E72
comment: This class comprises those material or immaterial items to which instances of E30 Right, such as the right of ownership or use, can be applied. This is true for all E18 Physical Thing. In the case of instances of E28 Conceptual Object, however, the identity of the E28 Conceptual Object or the method of its use may be too ambiguous to reliably establish instances of E30 Right, as in the case of taxa and inspirations. Ownership of corporations is currently regarded as out of scope of the CRM.
subclass of: Thing

Persistent Item
type: Class
notation: E77
comment: This class comprises items that have a persistent identity, sometimes known as “endurants” in philosophy. They can be repeatedly recognized within the duration of their existence by identity criteria rather than by continuity or observation. Persistent Items can be either physical entities, such as people, animals or things, or conceptual entities such as ideas, concepts, products of the imagination or common names. The criteria that determine the identity of an item are often difficult to establish -; the decision depends largely on the judgement of the observer. For example, a building is regarded as no longer existing if it is dismantled and the materials reused in a different configuration. On the other hand, human beings go through radical and profound changes during their life-span, affecting both material composition and form, yet preserve their identity by other criteria. Similarly, inanimate objects may be subject to exchange of parts and matter. The class E77 Persistent Item does not take any position about the nature of the applicable identity criteria and if actual knowledge about identity of an instance of this class exists. There may be cases, where the identity of an E77 Persistent Item is not decidable by a certain state of knowledge.The main classes of objects that fall outside the scope the E77 Persistent Item class are temporal objects such as periods, events and acts, and descriptive properties.
subclass of: CRM Entity
subclass of: Observable Entity

Spacetime Volume
type: Class
notation: E92
comment: This class comprises 4 dimensional point sets (volumes) in physical spacetime regardless its true geometric form. They may derive their identity from being the extent of a material phenomenon or from being the interpretation of an expression defining an extent in spacetime. Intersections of instances of E92 Spacetime Volume, Place and Timespan are also regarded as instances of E92 Spacetime Volume. An instance of E92 Spacetime Volume is either contiguous or composed of a finite number of contiguous subsets. Its boundaries may be fuzzy due to the properties of the phenomena it derives from or due to the limited precision up to which defining expression can be identified with a real extent in spacetime. The duration of existence of an instance of a spacetime volume is trivially its projection on time.
subclass of: CRM Entity

Matter Removal
type: Class
notation: S1
comment: This class comprises the activities that result in an instance of S10 Material Substantial being decreased by the removal of an amount of matter. Typical scenarios include the removal of a component or piece of a physical object, removal of an archaeological or geological layer, taking a tissue sample from a body or a sample of fluid from a body of water. The removed matter may acquire a persistent identity of different nature beyond the act of its removal, such as becoming a physical object in the narrower sense. Such cases should be modeled by using multiple instantiation with adequate concepts of creating the respective items.
subclass of: Activity

Sample Taking
type: Class
notation: S2
comment: This class comprises the activity that results in taking an amount of matter as sample for further analysis from a material substantial such as a body of water, a geological formation or an archaeological object. The removed matter may acquire a persistent identity of different nature beyond the act of its removal, such as becoming a physical object in the narrower sense. The sample is typically removed from a physical feature which is used as a frame of reference, the place of sampling. In case of non-rigid Material Substantials, the source of sampling may regarded not to be modified by the activity of sample taking.
subclass of: Matter Removal

Measurement by Sampling
type: Class
notation: S3
comment: This class comprises activities of taking a sample and measuring or analyzing it as one managerial unit of activity, in which the sample may not be identified and preserved beyond the context of this activity. Instances of this class are constrained to describe the taking of exactly one sample, in general not further identified, and the dimensions observed by the respective measurement are implicitly understood to describe this particular sample as representative of the place on the instance of S10 Material Substantial from which the sample was taken. Therefore the class S3 Measurement by Sampling inherits the properties of S2 Sample Taking.O3 sampled from: S10 Material Substantial and O4 sampled at: E53 Place, and the properties of S21(E16) Measurement.P40 observed dimension: E54 Dimension, due to multiple inheritance, whereas it needs not instantiate the properties O5 removed: S13 Sample and O24 measured: S15 Observable Entity, if the sample is not documented beyond the context of the activity.
subclass of: Sample Taking
subclass of: Measurement

Observation
type: Class
notation: S4
comment: This class comprises the activity of gaining scientific knowledge about particular states of physical reality gained by empirical evidence, experiments and by measurements. We define observation in the sense of natural sciences, as a kind of human activity: at some Place and within some Time-Span, certain Physical Things and their behavior and interactions are observed, either directly by human sensory impression, or enhanced with tools and measurement devices. The output of the internal processes of measurement devices that do not require additional human interaction are in general regarded as part of the observation and not as additional inference. Manual recordings may serve as additional evidence. Measurements and witnessing of events are special cases of observations. Observations result in a belief about certain propositions. In this model, the degree of confidence in the observed properties is regarded to be “true” per default, but could be described differently by adding a property P3 has note to an instance of S4 Observation, or by reification of the property O16 observed value. Primary data from measurement devices are regarded in this model to be results of observation and can be interpreted as propositions believed to be true within the (known) tolerances and degree of reliability of the device. Observations represent the transition between reality and propositions in the form of instances of a formal ontology, and can be subject to data evaluation from this point on.
subclass of: Attribute Assignment

Inference Making
type: Class
notation: S5
comment: This class comprises the action of making propositions and statements about particular states of affairs in reality or in possible realities or categorical descriptions of reality by using inferences from other statements based on hypotheses and any form of formal or informal logic. It includes evaluations, calculations, and interpretations based on mathematical formulations and propositions.
subclass of: Attribute Assignment

Data Evaluation
type: Class
notation: S6
comment: This class comprises the action of concluding propositions on a respective reality from observational data by making evaluations based on mathematical inference rules and calculations using established hypotheses, such as the calculation of an earthquake epicenter. S6 Data Evaluation is not defined as S21/E16 Measurement; Secondary derivations of dimensions of an object from data measured by different processes are regarded as S6 Data Evaluation and not determining instances of Measurement in its own right. For instance, the volume of a statue concluded from a 3D model is an instance of S6 Data Evaluation and not of Measurement.
subclass of: Inference Making

Simulation or Prediction
type: Class
notation: S7
comment: This class comprises activities of executing algorithms or software for simulating the behavior and the properties of a system of interacting components that form part of reality or not by using a mathematical model of the respective interactions. In particular it implies making predictions about the future behaviors of a system of interacting components of reality by starting simulation from an actually observed state, such as weather forecasts. Simulations may also be used to understand the effects of a theory, to compare theoretical predictions with reality, or to show differences with another theory.
subclass of: Inference Making

Categorical Hypothesis Building
type: Class
notation: S8
comment: This class comprises the action of making categorical hypotheses based on inference rules and theories; By categorical hypotheses we mean assumptions about the kinds of interactions and related kinds of structures of a domain that have the character of “laws” of nature or human behavior, be it necessary or probabilistic. Categorical hypotheses are developed by “induction” from finite numbers of observation and the absence of observations of particular kinds. As such, categorical hypotheses are always subject to falsification by new evidence. Instances of S8 Categorical Hypothesis Building include making and questioning categorical hypotheses.
subclass of: Inference Making

Property Type
type: Class
notation: S9
comment: This class comprises types of properties. Typically, instances of S9 Property Type would be taken from an ontology or terminological system. In particular, instances of this class can be used to describe in a parametric way what kind of properties the values in scientific data sets are about. By virtue of such descriptions, numeric data can be interpreted as sets of propositions in terms of a formal ontology, such as “concentration of nitrate”, observed in the ground water from a certain borehole.
subclass of: Type

Material Substantial
type: Class
notation: S10
comment: This class comprises constellations of matter with a relative stability of any form sufficient to associate them with a persistent identity, such as being confined to certain extent, having a relative stability of form or structure, or containing a fixed amount of matter. In particular, it comprises physical things in the narrower sense and fluid bodies. It is an abstraction of physical substance for solid and non-solid things of matter.
subclass of: Thing

Amount of Matter
type: Class
notation: S11
comment: This class comprises fixed amounts of matter specified as some air, some water, some soil, etc., defined by the total and integrity of their material content.
subclass of: Material Substantial

Amount of Fluid
type: Class
notation: S12
comment: This class comprises fixed amounts of fluid defined by the total of its material content, typically molecules. They frequently acquire identity in laboratory practice by the fact of being kept or handled together within some adequate containers.
subclass of: Amount of Matter
subclass of: Fluid Body

Sample
type: Class
notation: S13
comment: This class comprises instances of S11 Amount of Matter taken from some instance of S10 Material Substantial with the intention to be representative for some material qualities of the instance of S10 Material Substantial or part of it was taken from for further analysis. We typically regard a sample as ceasing to exist when the respective representative qualities become corrupted, such as the purity of a water sample or the layering of a bore core.
subclass of: Amount of Matter

Fluid Body
type: Class
notation: S14
comment: This class comprises a mass of matter in fluid form environmentally constraint in some persistent form allowing for identifying it for the management or research of material phenomena, such as a part of the sea, a river, the atmosphere or the milk in a bottle. Fluids are generally defined by the continuity criterion which is characteristic of their substance: their amorphous matter is continuous and tends to flow. Therefore, contiguous amounts of matter within a fluid body may stay contiguous or at least be locally spatially confined for a sufficiently long time in order to be temporarily identified and traced. This is a much weaker concept of stability of form than the one we would apply to what one would call a physical object. In general, an instance of Fluid Body may gain or lose matter over time through so-called sources or sinks in its surface, in contrast to physical things, which may lose or gain matter by exchange of pieces such as spare parts or corrosion.
subclass of: Material Substantial

Observable Entity
type: Class
notation: S15
comment: This class comprises instances of E2 Temporal Entity or E77 Persistent Item, i.e. items or phenomena that can be observed, either directly by human sensory impression, or enhanced with tools and measurement devices, such as physical things, their behavior, states and interactions or events. Conceptual objects can be present in events by their carriers such as books, digital media, or even human memory. By virtue of this presence, properties of conceptual objects, such as number of words can be observed on their carriers. If the respective properties between carriers differ, either they carry different instances of conceptual objects or the difference can be attributed to accidental deficiencies in one of the carriers. In that sense even immaterial objects are observable. By this model we give credit to the fact that frequently, the actually observed carriers of conceptual objects are not explicitly identified in documentation, i.e., the actual carrier is assumed having existed but is unknown as an individual.
subclass of: CRM Entity

State
type: Class
notation: S16
comment: This class comprises the persistence of a particular value range of the properties of a particular thing or things over a time-span.
subclass of: Temporal Entity

Physical Genesis
type: Class
notation: S17
comment: This class comprises events or processes that result in (generate) physical things, man-made or natural, coming into being in the form by which they are later identified. The creation of a new physical item, at the same time, can be a result of an alteration (modification) – it can become a new thing due to an alteration activity.
subclass of: Beginning of Existence
subclass of: Alteration

Alteration
type: Class
notation: S18
comment: This class comprises natural events or man-made processes that create, alter or change physical things, by affecting permanently their form or consistency without changing their identity. Examples include alterations on depositional features-layers by natural factors or disturbance by roots or insects, organic alterations, petrification, etc.
subclass of: Event

Encounter Event
type: Class
notation: S19
comment: This class comprises activities of S4 Observation (substance) where an E39 Actor encounters an instance of E18 Physical Thing of a kind relevant for the mission of the observation or regarded as potentially relevant for some community (identity). This observation produces knowledge about the existence of the respective thing at a particular place in or on surrounding matter. This knowledge may be new to the group of people the actor belongs to. In that case we would talk about a discovery. The observer may recognize or assign an individual identity of the thing encountered or regard only the type as noteworthy in the associated documentation or report. In archaeology there is a particular interest if an object is found “in situ”, i.e. if its embedding in the surrounding matter supports the assumption that the object was not moved since the archaeologically relevant deposition event. The surrounding matter with the relative position of the object in it as well as the absolute position and time of the observation may be recorded in order to enable inferences about the history of the E18 Physical Thing. In Biology, additional parameters may be recorded like the kind of ecosystem, if the biological individual survives the observation, what detection or catching devices have been used or if the encounter event supported the detection of a new biological kind (“taxon”).
subclass of: Observation

Physical Feature
type: Class
notation: S20
comment: This class comprises identifiable features that are physically attached in an integral way to particular physical objects. An instance of S20 Physical Feature also represents the place it occupies with respect to the surrounding matter. More precisely, it is the maximal real volume in space that an instance of S20 Physical Feature is occupying during its lifetime with respect to the default reference space relative to which the feature is at rest. In cases of features on or in the surface of earth, the default reference is typically fixed to the closer environment of the tectonic plate or sea floor. In cases of features on mobile objects, the reference space is typically fixed to the geometry of the bearing object. Instances of E26 Physical Feature share many of the attributes of instances of E19 Physical Object. They may have a one-, two- or three-dimensional geometric extent, but there are no natural borders that separate them completely in an objective way from the carrier objects. For example, a doorway is a feature but the door itself, being attached by hinges, is not. Instances of E26 Physical Feature can be features in a narrower sense, such as scratches, holes, reliefs, surface colors, reflection zones in an opal crystal or a density change in a piece of wood. In the wider sense, they are portions of particular objects with partially imaginary borders, such as the core of the Earth, an area of property on the surface of the Earth, a landscape or the head of a contiguous marble statue. They can be measured and dated, and it is sometimes possible to state who or what is or was responsible for them. They cannot be separated from the carrier object, but a segment of the carrier object may be identified (or sometimes removed) carrying the complete feature. This definition coincides with the definition of "fiat objects" (Smith and Varzi, 2000, pp.401-420), with the exception of aggregates of “bona fide objects”.
subclass of: Physical Thing
subclass of: Place

Measurement
type: Class
notation: S21
comment: This class comprises actions measuring instances of E2 Temporal Entity or E77 Persistent Items, properties of physical things, or phenomena, states and interactions or events, that can be determined by a systematic procedure. Primary data from measurement devices are regarded to be results of an observation process.
subclass of: Measurement
subclass of: Observation

Segment of Matter
type: Class
notation: S22
comment: This class comprises physical material in a relative stability of form (substance) within a specific spacetime volume (unity, extend). The spatial extend of a S22 Segment of Matter is defined by humans usually because the constellation is subject to a specific interest for and investigations of the geometric arrangement of physical features or parts of them on or within the specified S22 Segment of Matter. It comes into existence as being an object of discourse through S4 Observation or declaration and is restricted to the time span starting after the last change through an S18 Alteration before the S4 Observation or declaration and ending with the next S18 Alteration Event (identity). A S22 Segment of Matter exists as long as there is no modification of the geometric arrangement of its particles. Therefore the temporal boundaries of the defining Spacetime Volume are given by two S18 Alteration events. The history of a S22 Segment of Matter started with the first S17 Physical Genesis event that deposited still existing matter within the defined spatial extend. The collection of all S18 Alteration events represent its history. Some of the events will not leave any physical material within the S22 Segment of Matter. (to be elaborated further)
subclass of: Physical Feature

Thing
type: Class
notation: Thing
comment: The class of OWL individuals.

diminished
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Material Substantial
comment: This property associates an instance of S1 Matter Removal with the instance of S10 Material Substantial that this activity diminished.
domain:
  ressource: Matter Removal

removed
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Amount of Matter
comment: This property associates an instance of S1 Matter Removal with the instance of S11 Amount of Matter that it has removed.
domain:
  ressource: Matter Removal

sampled from
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Material Substantial
comment: This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance S10 Material Substantial from which a sample was taken This may be a feature or a fluid body from which a sample was removed.
domain:
  ressource: Sample Taking

sampled at
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Place
comment: This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance of E53 Place at which this activity sampled. It identifies the narrower spatial location from which an instance of a sample was taken. This maybe known or given in absolute terms or relative to an instance of a material substantial from which it was taken. It describes a position within the area in which the instance of the sampling activity occurred. The latter comprises the space within which operators and instruments were contained during the activity.
domain:
  ressource: Sample Taking

removed
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Sample
comment: This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance of S13 Sample that was removed during this activity. The sample is identified by a unique identifier.
domain:
  ressource: Sample Taking
sub property of: removed

forms former or current part of
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Fluid Body
comment: This property associates an instance of S12 Amount of Fluid with an instance of S14 Fluid Body which forms part of it. It allows instances of S14 Fluid Body to be analyzed into elements of S12 Amount of Fluid.
domain:
  ressource: Amount of Fluid

contains or confines
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Place
comment: This property associates an instance of E53 Place contained or confined in an instance of E53 Place with the latter. It describes a spatial containment between places or features. It declares a type of a feature which has a kind of spatial containment. Features such as layers defined as a Place that are contained or confined by a Physical Feature behaving as a place. A place-feature that is defined by its environmental area, by another place; it conforms to the outline of its container.
domain:
  ressource: Place

observed
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observable Entity
comment: This property associates an instance of S4 Observation with an instance of S15 Observable Entity that was observed. Specifically it describes that a thing, a feature, a phenomenon or its reaction is observed by an activity of Observation.
domain:
  ressource: Observation
sub property of: assigned attribute to

observed property type
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Property Type
comment: This property associates an instance of S4 Observation with the instance of S9 Property Type for which the observation provides a value or evidence, such as “concentration of nitrate” observed the water from a particular borehole. Encoding the observed property by type, observed entity and value (properties O9, O10, O16) is a method to circumscribe the reification of the observed property by the respective instance of S4 Observation. In an RDFS encoding, this circumscription can be transformed into an explicit representation of the observed property in terms of a formal ontology either by use of a reification construct or by the use of a Named Graph containing the observed property. The latter representation allows for more formal reasoning with the model, the former is more flexible about the kinds of observations.
domain:
  ressource: Observation

assigned dimension
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Dimension
comment: This property associates an instance of S6 Data Evaluation with an instance of E54 Dimension that a data evaluation activity has assigned. In that case, dimensions may be determined by making evaluations on observational data based on mathematical inference rules and calculations.
domain:
  ressource: Data Evaluation

described
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observable Entity
comment: This property associates an instance of S6 Data Evaluation with an instance of S15 Observable Entity for which a data evaluation activity provides a description. This description of any Observable Entity is based on data evaluations.
domain:
  ressource: Data Evaluation

has dimension
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Dimension
comment: This property associates an instance of S15 Observable Entity with an instance of E54 Dimension that the observable entity has.It offers no information about how and when an E54 Dimension was established.
domain:
  ressource: Observable Entity

triggers
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Event
comment: This property associates an instance of E5 Event that triggers another instance of E5 Event with the latter. It identifies the interaction between events: an event can activate (trigger) other event/s; in that sense it is interpreted as the cause, the triggering factor of a situation in tension (a system); a reaction between events.
domain:
  ressource: Event

initializes
type: Property
range:
  ressource: State
comment: This property associates an instance of E5 Event with instance/s of S16 State/s that an event initializes. These states are described as the results, consequences of an E5 Event.
domain:
  ressource: Event

occupied
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Place
comment: This property associates an instance of S10 Material Substantial with the instance of E53 Place that this substance occupied. It describes the space filled (occupied) by a physical matter. This property is the development of the shortcut expressed in the proposition of classification: “S20 Physical Feature” isA “E53 Place”
domain:
  ressource: Material Substantial

observed value
type: Property
range:
  ressource: CRM Entity
comment: This property associates a value assigned to an entity observed by S4 Observation.
domain:
  ressource: Observation
sub property of: assigned

generated
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Thing
comment: This property associates an instance of S17 Physical Genesis event with an instance of E18 Physical Thing that the event generated.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Genesis

altered
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Thing
comment: This property associates an instance of S18 Alteration process with an instance of E18 Physical Thing which was altered by this activity.
domain:
  ressource: Alteration

has found object
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Thing
comment: This property associates an instance of S19 Encounter Event with an instance of E18 Physical Thing that has been found.
domain:
  ressource: Encounter Event

sampled from type of part
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Type
comment: This property associates the activity of a Sample Taking with the type of the location part from which a sample was taken. It is a shortcut of the property O4 sampled at, and it is used as an alternative property, identifying features and material substantial as types of parts of sampling positions.
domain:
  ressource: Sample Taking

has found at
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Place
comment: This property associates an instance of S19 Encounter Event with an instance of E53 Place at which an encounter event found things. It identifies the narrower spatial location in which a thing was found at. This maybe known or given in absolute terms or relative to the thing found. It describes a position within the area in which the instance of the encounter event occurred and found something.
domain:
  ressource: Encounter Event

partly or completely contains
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Feature
comment: This property identifies an S20 Physical Feature as being part of a S22 Segment of Matter. One S22 Segment of Matter usually contains several S20 Physical Features.
domain:
  ressource: Segment of Matter

is defined by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Spacetime Volume
comment: This property identifies the E92 Spacetime Volume that defines a S22 Segment of Matter. The spatial boundaries of the E92 Spacetime Volume are defined through S4 Observation or declaration while the temporal boundaries are confined by S18 Alteration events.
domain:
  ressource: Segment of Matter

measured
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observable Entity
comment: This property associates an instance of S21 Measurement with the instance of S15 Observable Entity to which it applied. An instance of S15 Observable Entity may be measured more than once. Material and immaterial things and processes may be measured, e.g. the number of words in a text, or the duration of an event.
domain:
  ressource: Measurement
sub property of: observed
sub property of: measured

has modified
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Man-Made Thing
comment: This property identifies the E24 Physical Man-Made Thing modified in an E11 Modification. If a modification is applied to a non-man-made object, it is regarded as an E22 Man-Made Object from that time onwards.
domain:
  ressource: Modification
sub property of: altered

measured
type: Property
range:
  ressource: CRM Entity
comment: This property associates an instance of E16 Measurement with the instance of E1 CRM Entity to which it applied. An instance of E1 CRM Entity may be measured more than once. Material and immaterial things and processes may be measured, e.g. the number of words in a text, or the duration of an event.
domain:
  ressource: Measurement
sub property of: assigned attribute to

observed dimension
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Dimension
comment: This property records the dimension that was observed in an E16 Measurement Event.E54 Dimension can be any quantifiable aspect of E70 Thing. Weight, image colour depth and monetary value are dimensions in this sense. One measurement activity may determine more than one dimension of one object.Dimensions may be determined either by direct observation or using recorded evidence. In the latter case the measured Thing does not need to be present or extant.Even though knowledge of the value of a dimension requires measurement, the dimension may be an object of discourse prior to, or even without, any measurement being made.
domain:
  ressource: Measurement
sub property of: observed value
sub property of: assigned

has produced
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Man-Made Thing
comment: This property identifies the E24 Physical Man-Made Thing that came into existence as a result of an E12 Production. The identity of an instance of E24 Physical Man-Made Thing is not defined by its matter, but by its existence as a subject of documentation. An E12 Production can result in the creation of multiple instances of E24 Physical Man-Made Thing.
domain:
  ressource: Production
sub property of: generated
sub property of: has modified

assigned attribute to
type: Property
range:
  ressource: CRM Entity
comment: This property indicates the item to which an attribute or relation is assigned.
domain:
  ressource: Attribute Assignment

assigned
type: Property
range:
  ressource: CRM Entity
comment: This property indicates the attribute that was assigned or the item that was related to the item denoted by a property P140 assigned attribute to in an Attribute assignment action.
domain:
  ressource: Attribute Assignment

was diminished by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Matter Removal
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S1 Matter Removal with the instance of S10 Material Substantial that this activity diminished.
domain:
  ressource: Material Substantial

was removed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Matter Removal
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S1 Matter Removal with the instance of S11 Amount of Matter that it has removed.
domain:
  ressource: Amount of Matter

was sample by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Sample Taking
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance S10 Material Substantial from which a sample was taken This may be a feature or a fluid body from which a sample was removed.
domain:
  ressource: Material Substantial

was sampling location of
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Sample Taking
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance of E53 Place at which this activity sampled. It identifies the narrower spatial location from which an instance of a sample was taken. This maybe known or given in absolute terms or relative to an instance of a material substantial from which it was taken. It describes a position within the area in which the instance of the sampling activity occurred. The latter comprises the space within which operators and instruments were contained during the activity.
domain:
  ressource: Place

was removed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Sample Taking
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S2 Sample Taking with the instance of S13 Sample that was removed during this activity. The sample is identified by a unique identifier.
domain:
  ressource: Sample
sub property of: was removed by

has former or current part
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Amount of Fluid
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S12 Amount of Fluid with an instance of S14 Fluid Body which forms part of it. It allows instances of S14 Fluid Body to be analyzed into elements of S12 Amount of Fluid.
domain:
  ressource: Fluid Body

is contained or confined
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Place
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of E53 Place contained or confined in an instance of E53 Place with the latter. It describes a spatial containment between places or features. It declares a type of a feature which has a kind of spatial containment. Features such as layers defined as a Place that are contained or confined by a Physical Feature behaving as a place. A place-feature that is defined by its environmental area, by another place; it conforms to the outline of its container.
domain:
  ressource: Place

was observed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observation
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S4 Observation with an instance of S15 Observable Entity that was observed. Specifically it describes that a thing, a feature, a phenomenon or its reaction is observed by an activity of Observation.
domain:
  ressource: Observable Entity
sub property of: was attributed by

property type was observed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observation
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S4 Observation with the instance of S9 Property Type for which the observation provides a value or evidence, such as “concentration of nitrate” observed the water from a particular borehole. Encoding the observed property by type, observed entity and value (properties O9, O10, O16) is a method to circumscribe the reification of the observed property by the respective instance of S4 Observation. In an RDFS encoding, this circumscription can be transformed into an explicit representation of the observed property in terms of a formal ontology either by use of a reification construct or by the use of a Named Graph containing the observed property. The latter representation allows for more formal reasoning with the model, the former is more flexible about the kinds of observations.
domain:
  ressource: Property Type

dimension was assigned by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Data Evaluation
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S6 Data Evaluation with an instance of E54 Dimension that a data evaluation activity has assigned. In that case, dimensions may be determined by making evaluations on observational data based on mathematical inference rules and calculations.
domain:
  ressource: Dimension

was described by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Data Evaluation
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S6 Data Evaluation with an instance of S15 Observable Entity for which a data evaluation activity provides a description. This description of any Observable Entity is based on data evaluations.
domain:
  ressource: Observable Entity

is dimension of
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observable Entity
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S15 Observable Entity with an instance of E54 Dimension that the observable entity has.It offers no information about how and when an E54 Dimension was established.
domain:
  ressource: Dimension

is triggered by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Event
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of E5 Event that triggers another instance of E5 Event with the latter. It identifies the interaction between events: an event can activate (trigger) other event/s; in that sense it is interpreted as the cause, the triggering factor of a situation in tension (a system); a reaction between events.
domain:
  ressource: Event

is initialized by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Event
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of E5 Event with instance/s of S16 State/s that an event initializes. These states are described as the results, consequences of an E5 Event.
domain:
  ressource: State

was occupied by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Material Substantial
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S10 Material Substantial with the instance of E53 Place that this substance occupied. It describes the space filled (occupied) by a physical matter. This property is the development of the shortcut expressed in the proposition of classification: “S20 Physical Feature” isA “E53 Place”
domain:
  ressource: Place

value was observed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Observation
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates a value assigned to an entity observed by S4 Observation.
domain:
  ressource: CRM Entity
sub property of: was assigned by

was generated by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Physical Genesis
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S17 Physical Genesis event with an instance of E18 Physical Thing that the event generated.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Thing

was altered by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Alteration
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S18 Alteration process with an instance of E18 Physical Thing which was altered by this activity.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Thing

was object found by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Encounter Event
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S19 Encounter Event with an instance of E18 Physical Thing that has been found.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Thing

type of part was sampled by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Sample Taking
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates the activity of a Sample Taking with the type of the location part from which a sample was taken. It is a shortcut of the property O4 sampled at, and it is used as an alternative property, identifying features and material substantial as types of parts of sampling positions.
domain:
  ressource: Type

witnessed
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Encounter Event
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S19 Encounter Event with an instance of E53 Place at which an encounter event found things. It identifies the narrower spatial location in which a thing was found at. This maybe known or given in absolute terms or relative to the thing found. It describes a position within the area in which the instance of the encounter event occurred and found something.
domain:
  ressource: Place

is part of
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Segment of Matter
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property identifies an S20 Physical Feature as being part of a S22 Segment of Matter. One S22 Segment of Matter usually contains several S20 Physical Features.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Feature

defines
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Segment of Matter
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property identifies the E92 Spacetime Volume that defines a S22 Segment of Matter. The spatial boundaries of the E92 Spacetime Volume are defined through S4 Observation or declaration while the temporal boundaries are confined by S18 Alteration events.
domain:
  ressource: Spacetime Volume

was measured by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Measurement
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of S21 Measurement with the instance of S15 Observable Entity to which it applied. An instance of S15 Observable Entity may be measured more than once. Material and immaterial things and processes may be measured, e.g. the number of words in a text, or the duration of an event.
domain:
  ressource: Observable Entity
sub property of: was observed by
sub property of: was measured by

was modified by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Modification
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property identifies the E24 Physical Man-Made Thing modified in an E11 Modification. If a modification is applied to a non-man-made object, it is regarded as an E22 Man-Made Object from that time onwards.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Man-Made Thing
sub property of: was altered by

was measured by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Measurement
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property associates an instance of E16 Measurement with the instance of E1 CRM Entity to which it applied. An instance of E1 CRM Entity may be measured more than once. Material and immaterial things and processes may be measured, e.g. the number of words in a text, or the duration of an event.
domain:
  ressource: CRM Entity
sub property of: was attributed by

was observed in
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Measurement
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property records the dimension that was observed in an E16 Measurement Event.E54 Dimension can be any quantifiable aspect of E70 Thing. Weight, image colour depth and monetary value are dimensions in this sense. One measurement activity may determine more than one dimension of one object.Dimensions may be determined either by direct observation or using recorded evidence. In the latter case the measured Thing does not need to be present or extant.Even though knowledge of the value of a dimension requires measurement, the dimension may be an object of discourse prior to, or even without, any measurement being made.
domain:
  ressource: Dimension
sub property of: value was observed by
sub property of: was assigned by

was produced by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Production
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property identifies the E24 Physical Man-Made Thing that came into existence as a result of an E12 Production. The identity of an instance of E24 Physical Man-Made Thing is not defined by its matter, but by its existence as a subject of documentation. An E12 Production can result in the creation of multiple instances of E24 Physical Man-Made Thing.
domain:
  ressource: Physical Man-Made Thing
sub property of: was generated by
sub property of: was modified by

was attributed by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Attribute Assignment
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property indicates the item to which an attribute or relation is assigned.
domain:
  ressource: CRM Entity

was assigned by
type: Property
range:
  ressource: Attribute Assignment
comment: This property is the inverse of the forward property described in the scope note that follows. This property indicates the attribute that was assigned or the item that was related to the item denoted by a property P140 assigned attribute to in an Attribute assignment action.
domain:
  ressource: CRM Entity