GIS,Archaeological Survey,and Landscape Archaeology on the Island of Kythera,Greece

Abstract

GIS and quantitative analysis are used to explore a series of simple but important issues in GIS-led survey. we draw on information collected during intensive archaeological field survey of the island of Kythera, Greece, and consider four questions: the relationship between terracing and enclosed field systems; the effect of vegetation on archaeological recovery; site definition and characterization in multi-period and artifact-rich landscapes; and site location modelling that considers some of the decisions behind the placing of particular Bronze Age settlements. we have chosen GIS and quantitative methods to extract patterns and structure in our multi-scalar dataset, demonstrating the value of GIS in helping to understand the archaeological record and past settlement dynamics. The case studies can be viewed as examples of how GIS may contribute to four stages in any empirically based landscape project insofar as they move from the spatial structure of the modern landscape, to the visibility and patterning of archaeological data, to the interpretation of settlement patterns.     

Landscape Phenomenology, GIS and the Role of Affordance

That despite over a decade and a half of research, effective dialogue within archaeology between Geographic Information System (GIS) (on one hand) and experiential theory (on the other) remains elusive is nothing short of remarkable. The present discussion seeks to not only explore the reasons behind this impasse but to suggest that perhaps the time for dialogue has passed and rather than building bridges, researchers in archaeological GIS should instead begin to build their own theoretical frameworks. To this end, a discussion of affordance (and its potential application in the field of experiential analysis) is offered.     

Manipulating the Maritime Cultural Landscape: Vernacular Boats and Economic Relations on Nineteenth-Century Achill Island,Ireland

Resistance to British control of Ireland’s maritime landscape under the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922) was highly localized, enacted in part through Irish choices in boat construction and patterns of movement at sea. British naval authorities overseeing Achill Island in County Mayo used both coercive and conciliatory means to replace Irish subsistence fishing from regional vernacular boats with commercial fishing from larger non-local vessels reliant upon piers and dredged harbors. These changes encouraged islanders’ dependency upon imported food and wage-based employment performed under Protestant surveillance. Indigenous boats including curraghs and yawls played central roles in Irish resistance to these changes, through the assertion of traditional lifeways and practices.     

Population Synthesis: Comparing the Major Techniques Using a Small, Complete Population of Firms

Recently, disaggregate modeling efforts that rely on microdata have received wide attention by scholars and practitioners. Synthetic population techniques have been devised and are used as a viable alternative to the collection of microdata that normally are inaccessible because of confidentiality concerns or incomplete because of high acquisition costs. The two most widely discussed synthetic techniques are the synthetic reconstruction method (IPFSR), which makes use of iterative proportional fitting (IPF) techniques, and the combinatorial optimization (CO) method. Both methods are described in this article and then evaluated in terms of their ability to recreate a known population of firms, using limited data extracted from the parent population of the firms. Testing a synthetic population against a known population is seldom done, because obtaining an entire population usually is too difficult. The case presented here uses a small, complete population of firms for the City of Hamilton, Ontario, for the year 1990; firm attributes compiled are number of employees, 3-digit standard industrial classification, and geographic location. Results are summarized for experiments based upon various combinations of sample size and tabulation detail designed to maximize the accuracy of resulting synthetic populations while holding input data costs to a minimum. The output from both methods indicates that increases in sample size and tabulation detail result in higher quality synthetic populations, although the quality of the generated population is more sensitive to increases in tabular detail. Finally, most tests conducted with the created synthetic populations suggest that the CO method is superior to the IPFSR method.     

Assessing the effects of geomorphological processes on archaeological densities: a GIS case study on Zakynthos Island,Greece

While geomorphological processes are considered key factors in the distribution of archaeological surface finds, few studies have attempted to quantify the relationship between artefact dispersal and erosional/depositional patterns. This paper compares Unit Stream Power Erosion Deposition model (USPED) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and integrates the results in the archaeological finds’ density map of Zakynthos Archaeological Project. The study area (Palaiokastro), with artefacts dated from middle Paleolithic to medieval times, includes a steep terrain with a surrounding plain area, where the downslope erosion has considerably modified the distribution of archaeological remains. Through this study, it is possible to identify relationships between high artefact densities and stable/non-eroded surfaces, and on the other hand, low densities and eroded surfaces. However, the results indicate a degree of spatial variability, which modifies the predicted relationship. The consideration of the effects of these temporal and spatial patterns is crucial for developing effective sampling methods and accurately interpreting the archaeological record.     

Variation in Venues of Slavery and Freedom: Interpreting the Late Eighteenth-Century Cultural Landscape of St. John, Danish West Indies Using an Archaeological GIS

An archaeological GIS is used to examine the late eighteenth-century cultural landscape of St. John, US Virgin Islands. Land use patterns are reconstructed using a combination of historic maps, tax records, and survey reconnaissance. The study demonstrates significant, heretofore undocumented, transitions taking place that reflect dynamic cultural and economic change within Danish West Indian plantation society that includes a significant trend towards land ownership by free-colored St. Johnians more than a half a century before emancipation. These venues of freedom are discussed in relation to broader patterns of estate consolidation and economic shifts.     

Contributions of GIS and Satellite-based Remote Sensing to Landscape Archaeology in the Middle East

This article explores the coevolution of landscape approaches and geospatial tools in Middle Eastern archaeology. From the first aerial reconnaissance programs, archaeologists recognized the value of a view from above to address overarching human–environmental questions that underpin regional historical narratives. The diversity and density of visible remains in the landscape of the Middle East has required an integrative approach, encompassed in the perspective of landscape as a static artifact, landscape as built features, landscape as a system, and landscape as a dynamic construct, which cuts across modern political boundaries. Recent advances in geospatial tools and datasets have enabled archaeologists to make significant progress on four long-standing questions of how to (1) best document and manage rapidly disappearing ancient landscapes, (2) understand landscape formation processes, (3) identify and interpret economic, environmental, and social influences that result in long-term settlement and land use patterns, and (4) recognize and contextualize the interplay between environment and human agency in the evolution of ancient economies and transformations in socio-organizational complexity.