As the number of digital objects associated with scientific studies and collection objects of all kinds grows, the data associated with these digital objects must be standardised so that it is easily accessible, distributed to the greatest number of people, and archived in the best conditions on long term basis, and the associated studies are reproducible. This study proposes ideas for defining metadata and paradata connected with digital objects, specifically 3D models. Above all, it evaluates existing data standards in the field of natural collections, such as nomenclature codes (Zoological and Plants), the Darwin Core, ABCD, and LIDO data standards, as well as the FAIR and CARE principles that apply to such data. To that purpose, this work proposes methods for standardising the data created by digital objects in biological collections and, by extension, for 3D digital documentation of cultural resources. The DFG project “Research & Responsibility. Virtual access to fossils and archival material from the Tendaguru expedition” at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, is an excellent case study for this, as it encompasses more than 100 years of data-meta-paradata collection starting from the historic paleontological excavations (1909–1913) to the current digitization.