article: id: CA-UI-002 title: Civilisation Object Schema version: 1.0 status: canonical type: specification parent_protocol: CA-UI-001
Purpose
purpose: > Define the minimum machine-readable structure required for any object to enter, remain identifiable within, and connect across the Civilisation Atlas.
Reality ↓Civilisation Object ↓Canonical Identity ↓Atlas Address ↓Relationships ↓Knowledge Graph
Core rule
Everything entering the Atlas becomes an object.Not every object is a civilisation.Every object must have:- identity- type- scope- evidence- relationships
Universal object
civilisation_object: object_id: required canonical_name: required object_type: required description: required status: required scope: spatial: required temporal: required system_level: required atlas_position: coordinate_type: required primary_coordinate: optional inherited_coordinate: optional coordinate_effect: optional mechanisms: [] dependencies: [] relationships: [] transitions: [] evidence: [] interpretations: [] confidence: identity: required classification: required coordinate: optional relationships: required version: schema_version: required object_version: required last_reviewed: required
Canonical identity
identity: object_id: format: CA-[DOMAIN]-[TYPE]-[UNIQUE_ID] canonical_name: definition: > Stable human-readable name used throughout the Atlas. aliases: definition: > Alternative names, spellings, translations, historical names and common references. external_identifiers: examples: - DOI - ISBN - Wikidata_ID - geographic_code - archive_reference - dataset_identifier
Example:
identity: object_id: CA-HIS-CIV-ROMAN-EMPIRE canonical_name: Roman Empire aliases: - Imperium Romanum - Roman imperial civilisation external_identifiers: wikidata_id: Q2277
Object classes
object_types: human: - person - population - community - profession - leadership_group social: - family - organisation - institution - state - civilisation - network material: - artefact - tool - machine - building - infrastructure - settlement informational: - language - idea - belief - law - record - curriculum - theory - dataset operational: - capability - process - mechanism - protocol - production_system - distribution_system environmental: - habitat - ecosystem - climate_condition - resource - geographic_system temporal: - event - period - transition - cycle - crisis - collapse - repair analytical: - model - framework - indicator - coordinate - diagnosis - scenario - forecast
System level
system_levels: L0: individual L1: household L2: local_group L3: settlement L4: institution L5: city_or_region L6: state L7: civilisation L8: planetary_system L9: multi_habitat_civilisation
Object Level ≠ ImportanceA small object may alter a much larger system.
Example:
object: canonical_name: movable-type printing press system_level: L2 coordinate_effect: target_level: - L6 - L7 effects: - expands_information_distribution - lowers_replication_cost - increases_education_scalability - alters_control_geometry
Scope contract
scope: spatial: type: - point - local - regional - continental - planetary - multi_habitat - non_spatial geometry: coordinates: optional boundaries: optional inherited_from: optional temporal: start: optional end: optional duration: optional temporal_status: - historical - active - dormant - extinct - projected - hypothetical population: direct_population: optional affected_population: optional inherited_from: optional
Coordinate assignment
coordinate_assignment: direct: use_when: > The object is itself a civilisation-scale system. fields: capability: required lifecycle: required habitat: required inherited: use_when: > The object belongs to a larger system and does not possess an independent civilisation coordinate. fields: inherited_from: required modifying: use_when: > The object changes the coordinate, condition or trajectory of another system. fields: target_object: required affected_dimensions: required direction: required magnitude: optional
Example:
atlas_position: coordinate_type: modifying inherited_coordinate: inherited_from: CA-HIS-CIV-ROMAN-EMPIRE coordinate_effect: target_object: CA-HIS-CIV-ROMAN-EMPIRE affected_dimensions: capability: - logistics - military_projection - taxation - communication lifecycle: - expansion_support - maintenance_burden direction: capability: positive lifecycle: mixed habitat: neutral
Mechanism attachment
mechanisms: civos: - education - governance - production - distribution - memory - coordination - control - maintenance - repair - adaptation strategizeos: - sensing - selection - storage - replication - defence - redundancy - decentralisation - concentration - environmental_modification
Object = What existsMechanism = What it doesRelationship = What it connects toCoordinate Effect = What it changes
Dependency contract
dependency: dependency_id: required source_object: required target_object: required dependency_type: - survival - operational - material - energetic - informational - institutional - ecological - financial - technological - political criticality: - optional - supporting - important - critical - single_point_of_failure substitutability: - high - medium - low - none failure_effect: - local - cascading - systemic - civilisational
Relationship contract
relationship: relationship_id: required source_object: required predicate: required target_object: required direction: - directed - reciprocal temporal_scope: optional evidence: required confidence: required
Example:
relationship: relationship_id: CA-REL-ROMAN-ROAD-001 source_object: CA-HIS-INFRA-ROMAN-ROADS predicate: enables target_object: CA-HIS-MECH-ROMAN-LOGISTICS direction: directed evidence: - CA-EVIDENCE-001 - CA-EVIDENCE-002 confidence: high
Transition contract
transition: transition_id: required object_id: required from_state: required to_state: required trigger: - internal - external - compound - unknown mechanisms: [] enabling_conditions: [] blocking_conditions: [] consequences: [] transition_status: - proposed - emerging - partial - completed - reversed - failed
Evidence contract
evidence: evidence_id: required evidence_type: required source_reference: required evidence_type_options: - archaeological - historical_record - statistical - experimental - observational - computational - comparative - theoretical - expert_interpretation supports: - identity - classification - coordinate - mechanism - dependency - relationship - transition reliability: source_quality: required methodological_strength: required reproducibility: optional uncertainty: required
Interpretation separation
interpretation: interpretation_id: required object_id: required claim: required author_or_model: required evidence_ids: [] framework: optional status: - dominant - competing - minority - speculative - rejected
Evidence ≠ InterpretationObservation ≠ ExplanationObject ≠ Theory about Object
Object example
civilisation_object: object_id: CA-HIS-INFRA-ROMAN-ROADS canonical_name: Roman Road Network aliases: - Roman roads - viae Romanae object_type: infrastructure description: > A distributed engineered transport network connecting settlements, military positions, administrative centres and economic regions across the Roman world. status: historical scope: spatial: type: continental inherited_from: CA-HIS-CIV-ROMAN-EMPIRE temporal: start: approximately_300_BCE end: regionally_variable temporal_status: historical system_level: L7 atlas_position: coordinate_type: modifying inherited_coordinate: inherited_from: CA-HIS-CIV-ROMAN-EMPIRE coordinate_effect: affected_dimensions: capability: - transport - military_projection - taxation - information_flow - territorial_coordination lifecycle: - supports_expansion - supports_cruise - creates_maintenance_dependency habitat: [] direction: capability: positive lifecycle: mixed habitat: neutral mechanisms: civos: - distribution - coordination - governance - control - maintenance dependencies: - labour - stone - engineering_knowledge - state_finance - political_control - local_maintenance relationships: - enables_military_mobility - enables_tax_collection - connects_administrative_centres - accelerates_trade - increases_maintenance_burden confidence: identity: very_high classification: very_high coordinate: high relationships: high version: schema_version: CA-OBJECT-1.0 object_version: 1.0 last_reviewed: 2026-07-27
Validation rules
function validate_object(object): require(object.object_id) require(object.canonical_name) require(object.object_type) require(object.scope.system_level) require(object.evidence) if object.atlas_position.coordinate_type == "direct": require(object.capability) require(object.lifecycle) require(object.habitat) if object.atlas_position.coordinate_type == "inherited": require(object.inherited_from) if object.atlas_position.coordinate_type == "modifying": require(object.target_object) require(object.affected_dimensions) require(object.direction) reject_if_duplicate_identity(object) separate_evidence_from_interpretation(object) validate_relationship_targets(object) return VALID
Canonical object rule
canonical_rule: > Every object must be independently identifiable, explicitly scoped, evidentially grounded and relationally connected before it becomes an active node within the Civilisation Atlas knowledge graph.
Runtime summary
NO OBJECT WITHOUT IDENTITY.NO IDENTITY WITHOUT SCOPE.NO COORDINATE WITHOUT SCALE.NO RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT EVIDENCE.NO INTERPRETATION DISGUISED AS FACT.NO OBJECT EXISTS ALONE.