The Reciprocal Provenance Layer: A Conceptual Framework for Recursive Provenance Documentation

This publication introduces the concept of the Reciprocal Provenance Layer, a recursive provenance model in which documentation and archival records are returned to the knowledge systems that originally describe an artwork. Developed in the context of the Light and Relic project, the Reciprocal Provenance Layer integrates DOI-persistent publications (Zenodo), machine-readable knowledge graphs (Wikidata), and long-term archival infrastructures (Internet Archive) into a reflexive provenance structure. Within this model, documentation does not merely describe provenance but becomes an active component of it. The framework addresses a structural gap in digital provenance systems, which typically document the origin of artifacts but rarely account for the provenance, authenticity, and long-term preservation of their own documentation. By reintroducing archived documentation as a cited source, the Reciprocal Provenance Layer establishes a publicly verifiable, stable, and machine-readable provenance layer. This document represents Version 1.0 of the Reciprocal Provenance Layer concept and may evolve as part of the Living Provenance framework.