This paper presents a case study using zonal statistical analysis for archaeological predictive modeling with open-access software and free geospatial datasets. The method is applied to the rural landscapes of Zanzibar, Tanzania on the Swahili Coast. This study used QGIS (version 3.28) to perform zonal statistical analyses of environmental datasets weighted by settlement classes digitized from a 1907 historical map, to create predictive models for settlement across the island. These models were compared against the locations of major precolonial archaeological sites on the island and site data from a random stratified archaeological survey in an environmentally diverse region of northern Zanzibar. The results show strong correspondences between larger permanent site locations and areas of high likelihood for site detection in the predictive model. Additionally, there were correspondences between areas of lower likelihood for site detection and smaller, ephemeral sites related to agricultural production in swidden field plots. These results attest to Swahili rural complexity and enable an understanding of the specific environmental affordances that structured settlement and land use over the last millennium, in ways that shaped colonial contact in rural areas and altered the sociopolitical development of Zanzibar and the East African coast. The methods described here may be applicable for researchers and heritage managers in Africa and the Global South, where funding for large-scale field projects, expensive satellite imagery, or software licensing is limited.
{"title":"Open-Access Archaeological Predictive Modeling Using Zonal Statistics: A Case Study from Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"Wolfgang Alders","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.107","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a case study using zonal statistical analysis for archaeological predictive modeling with open-access software and free geospatial datasets. The method is applied to the rural landscapes of Zanzibar, Tanzania on the Swahili Coast. This study used QGIS (version 3.28) to perform zonal statistical analyses of environmental datasets weighted by settlement classes digitized from a 1907 historical map, to create predictive models for settlement across the island. These models were compared against the locations of major precolonial archaeological sites on the island and site data from a random stratified archaeological survey in an environmentally diverse region of northern Zanzibar. The results show strong correspondences between larger permanent site locations and areas of high likelihood for site detection in the predictive model. Additionally, there were correspondences between areas of lower likelihood for site detection and smaller, ephemeral sites related to agricultural production in swidden field plots. These results attest to Swahili rural complexity and enable an understanding of the specific environmental affordances that structured settlement and land use over the last millennium, in ways that shaped colonial contact in rural areas and altered the sociopolitical development of Zanzibar and the East African coast. The methods described here may be applicable for researchers and heritage managers in Africa and the Global South, where funding for large-scale field projects, expensive satellite imagery, or software licensing is limited.","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135154140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Domestic architecture is an essential archaeological component for understanding past societies. As such, recent studies on house and households in Egypt have focused on analyzing vernacular architecture practices from the perspective of the long durée or in broader geographical perspective. In this study we investigate Roman period domestic structures to understand the changing social meanings of local and global cultures within the built environment. Drawing on building archaeology and space syntax analysis, we discuss the application, strengths, and limitations of our approach as well as the results of the study to shed light on the relationship between people, architecture and domestic spaces in Egypt during the Roman period.
{"title":"Architecture Reality and Perception: The Multicultural Nature of Egyptian Domestic Architecture in the Roman Period","authors":"Marta Lorenzon, Cansu Pylkännen, Andreas V. Artto","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.95","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.95","url":null,"abstract":"Domestic architecture is an essential archaeological component for understanding past societies. As such, recent studies on house and households in Egypt have focused on analyzing vernacular architecture practices from the perspective of the long durée or in broader geographical perspective. In this study we investigate Roman period domestic structures to understand the changing social meanings of local and global cultures within the built environment. Drawing on building archaeology and space syntax analysis, we discuss the application, strengths, and limitations of our approach as well as the results of the study to shed light on the relationship between people, architecture and domestic spaces in Egypt during the Roman period.","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136355821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fernando Menéndez-Marsh, Mohammed Al-Rawi, J. Fonte, Rita Dias, Luis Jorge Gonçalves, L. Seco, J. Hipólito, José Pedro Machado, Jorge Medina, José Moreira, Tiago Do Pereiro, Marta Vázquez, António J. R. Neves
GIS are an essential element in archaeology. Their use has become widespread for their potential to store, reference, analyse and visualise spatial information. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, a systematic review of academic peer-reviewed publications related to the use of GIS, as a framework, in archaeology has never been presented before. Our goal in this work is to identify what has been published so far in relation to using GIS in archaeology within a small selected sample. We used the PRISMA guideline to perform a systematic review of 671 publications that we identified using the SCOPUS database and the keywords ‘GIS’ and ‘archaeology’. The collected publications were screened, analysed, and categorized into different relevant categories. Our analysis shows that GIS, in our selected sample, are mostly used for visualization and information management tasks. Moreover, spatial analysis studies were more common than other studies, and theoretical publications are scarce. The lack of a theoretical background in GIS may be the cause of some of the problems related to GIS applications in archaeology.
{"title":"Geographic Information Systems in Archaeology: A Systematic Review","authors":"Fernando Menéndez-Marsh, Mohammed Al-Rawi, J. Fonte, Rita Dias, Luis Jorge Gonçalves, L. Seco, J. Hipólito, José Pedro Machado, Jorge Medina, José Moreira, Tiago Do Pereiro, Marta Vázquez, António J. R. Neves","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.104","url":null,"abstract":"GIS are an essential element in archaeology. Their use has become widespread for their potential to store, reference, analyse and visualise spatial information. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, a systematic review of academic peer-reviewed publications related to the use of GIS, as a framework, in archaeology has never been presented before. Our goal in this work is to identify what has been published so far in relation to using GIS in archaeology within a small selected sample. We used the PRISMA guideline to perform a systematic review of 671 publications that we identified using the SCOPUS database and the keywords ‘GIS’ and ‘archaeology’. The collected publications were screened, analysed, and categorized into different relevant categories. Our analysis shows that GIS, in our selected sample, are mostly used for visualization and information management tasks. Moreover, spatial analysis studies were more common than other studies, and theoretical publications are scarce. The lack of a theoretical background in GIS may be the cause of some of the problems related to GIS applications in archaeology.","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46149680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abel Ruiz-Giralt, Alemseged Beldados, Stefano Biagetti, Francesca D’Agostini, A. Catherine D’Andrea, Yemane Meresa, Carla Lancelotti
Cross-cultural models are a useful tool to generate hypotheses about the past using ethnographic data, especially when they can be validated against the archaeological record. In this paper, we propose the use of computer modelling techniques to gain insights into the agricultural history in the northern Horn of Africa of two key staple crops, i.e. finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To date, our understanding of the role of these cereals in the past economies of the region has been hindered by preservation issues and the limited number of systematic archaeobotanical research programs. By building predictive models that combine published ethnographic literature and environmental datasets on a global level, we can generate hypotheses about past agricultural systems in the northern Horn. The ability of the models to predict local agricultural practices in the area was tested against ethnoarchaeological observations in Gulo Makeda (Tigrai, Ethiopia). Archaeobotanical data from an archaeological site in the area, i.e. Ona Adi (ca. 750 BCE – CE 700), was used to assess the model’s predictions when applied to the archaeological record. According to our results, the rainfed agriculture of finger millet and sorghum was already in place during the Aksumite period (ca. 50 BCE – CE 800) around the main centres of settlement articulation. These results are supported by the phytolith assemblage from Ona Adi, which records the presence of water-stressed Chloridoideae and Panicoideae grasses throughout the occupation of the site.
{"title":"Sorghum and Finger Millet Cultivation during the Aksumite Period: Insights from Ethnoarchaeological Modelling and Microbotanical Analysis","authors":"Abel Ruiz-Giralt, Alemseged Beldados, Stefano Biagetti, Francesca D’Agostini, A. Catherine D’Andrea, Yemane Meresa, Carla Lancelotti","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.132","url":null,"abstract":"Cross-cultural models are a useful tool to generate hypotheses about the past using ethnographic data, especially when they can be validated against the archaeological record. In this paper, we propose the use of computer modelling techniques to gain insights into the agricultural history in the northern Horn of Africa of two key staple crops, i.e. finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To date, our understanding of the role of these cereals in the past economies of the region has been hindered by preservation issues and the limited number of systematic archaeobotanical research programs. By building predictive models that combine published ethnographic literature and environmental datasets on a global level, we can generate hypotheses about past agricultural systems in the northern Horn. The ability of the models to predict local agricultural practices in the area was tested against ethnoarchaeological observations in Gulo Makeda (Tigrai, Ethiopia). Archaeobotanical data from an archaeological site in the area, i.e. Ona Adi (ca. 750 BCE – CE 700), was used to assess the model’s predictions when applied to the archaeological record. According to our results, the rainfed agriculture of finger millet and sorghum was already in place during the Aksumite period (ca. 50 BCE – CE 800) around the main centres of settlement articulation. These results are supported by the phytolith assemblage from Ona Adi, which records the presence of water-stressed Chloridoideae and Panicoideae grasses throughout the occupation of the site.","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135360695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Automatic Normalization of Temporal Expressions","authors":"Ceri Binding, D. Tudhope","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.105","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70674003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spatial Patterns and Grave Goods Differences at the Cemetery of Vedrovice (Czech Republic): A Resampling Approach to Identity Markers in the Early Neolithic","authors":"Petr Pajdla","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.85","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.85","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70674538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The recent availability of a systematic airborne LiDAR coverage for England in the scope of the Environment Agency’s ‘National LiDAR Programme’ has enabled the mapping of a new Roman road network system in South West Britain, an area where there was little solid evidence for a system of long-distance roads. To understand the rationale behind their construction, a GIS spatial analysis approach to model movement was developed, which included not just straightforward Least Cost Paths, but also other methods, such as MADO and CMTC, to overcome some of the common limitations of Least Cost Paths and produce a more reliable prediction of the likely layout of the Roman road network in the area. The results indicate that this network privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles, avoiding where possible areas subject to flooding risks. This road network is possibly the result of an evolutionary model, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which were probably still in use in Medieval times
{"title":"Remote Sensing and GIS Modelling of Roman Roads in South West Britain","authors":"C. Parcero-Oubiña, C. Smart, J. Fonte","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.109","url":null,"abstract":"The recent availability of a systematic airborne LiDAR coverage for England in the scope of the Environment Agency’s ‘National LiDAR Programme’ has enabled the mapping of a new Roman road network system in South West Britain, an area where there was little solid evidence for a system of long-distance roads. To understand the rationale behind their construction, a GIS spatial analysis approach to model movement was developed, which included not just straightforward Least Cost Paths, but also other methods, such as MADO and CMTC, to overcome some of the common limitations of Least Cost Paths and produce a more reliable prediction of the likely layout of the Roman road network in the area. The results indicate that this network privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles, avoiding where possible areas subject to flooding risks. This road network is possibly the result of an evolutionary model, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which were probably still in use in Medieval times","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70674441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Executable Map Paper (EMaP) for Archaeological LiDAR","authors":"Benjamin Štular, Edisa Lozić","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.106","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70674059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Looking at the Big Picture: Using Spatial Statistical Analyses to Study Indigenous Settlement Patterns in the North-Western Dominican Republic","authors":"E. Malatesta, J. U. Hung, C. Hofman","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.83","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.83","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70674480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New affordable equipment suitable for 3D fieldwork documentation has appeared during the last years. Both photogrammetry and laser scanning are becoming affordable for archaeologists, who often work with limited resources and tight time constraints. This paper compares two such approaches and their workflows. Photogrammetry based on a video captured by a DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera and iPhone 12 Pro LiDAR scans are performed on a Finnish Early modern period archaeological project. A reference point cloud was created using a heavier terrestrial laser scanner. By comparing the acquisition processes and the accuracy and precision of the results, the potential of these new documentation methods can be evaluated. In addition to their precision and geometric accuracy, the methods are also compared in terms of ease of use and time constraints. The results demonstrate that although these technologies are still far from perfect, they provide a glimpse into the future of 3D field documentation. Archaeologists can achieve sufficiently precise 3D documentation for distinct phases of excavation in an Early Modern period site without requiring an extravagant budget or special skills. However, the results indicate that the quality may not be adequate for fieldwork projects requiring more precise data, such as Neolithic period excavations.
{"title":"Towards a Mobile 3D Documentation Solution. Video-Based Photogrammetry and iPhone 12 Pro as Fieldwork Documentation Tools","authors":"Nikolai Paukkonen","doi":"10.5334/jcaa.135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.135","url":null,"abstract":"New affordable equipment suitable for 3D fieldwork documentation has appeared during the last years. Both photogrammetry and laser scanning are becoming affordable for archaeologists, who often work with limited resources and tight time constraints. This paper compares two such approaches and their workflows. Photogrammetry based on a video captured by a DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera and iPhone 12 Pro LiDAR scans are performed on a Finnish Early modern period archaeological project. A reference point cloud was created using a heavier terrestrial laser scanner. By comparing the acquisition processes and the accuracy and precision of the results, the potential of these new documentation methods can be evaluated. In addition to their precision and geometric accuracy, the methods are also compared in terms of ease of use and time constraints. The results demonstrate that although these technologies are still far from perfect, they provide a glimpse into the future of 3D field documentation. Archaeologists can achieve sufficiently precise 3D documentation for distinct phases of excavation in an Early Modern period site without requiring an extravagant budget or special skills. However, the results indicate that the quality may not be adequate for fieldwork projects requiring more precise data, such as Neolithic period excavations.","PeriodicalId":32632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135800272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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