Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Locating A Marketplace At The Ancient Maya City Of Lakamha’, Mexico Using The Configurational Approach, Jonathan Roldan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In some cases, plazas that undergo archaeological testing for marketplace activity are identified using a method known as the configurational approach. This preliminary research method compares plaza locations to a list of associated features, often treated as a list of criteria. However, this approach has been criticized for its speculative nature and the equifinality of the results. Additionally, some argue that these “criteria” are only a list of assumptions. Until now, the configurational approach has received little attention due to its limitations and speculative nature, yet it remains an integral part of the preliminary process in marketplace research. This project …

Potential Fossil Yield Classification (Pfyc) Survey Of Nevada Surficial Geology, And A Multi-Sensor, Remote Sensing, Change-Detection Study Of Land-Use/Land-Cover Urbanization Impacting The Las Vegas Formation Located In Northwestern Las Vegas Valley, John Jayson Medema

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis is a combination of two separate but related projects. The first project is a Potential Fossil Yield Classification (PYFC) survey. The PFYC is a Bureau of Land Management funded survey designed to synthesize paleontologic information into a geographic information system (GIS) as a distributable geodatabase. The database is designed to represent surficial geologic deposits contained in a polygon shapefile. Throughout the State of Nevada each polygon represents a mapped geologic unit at a scale of at least 1:250 k. Each mapped geologic unit is then assigned a “potential fossil yield classification”, a numerical ranking value of 1-5 based …

Mapping The Landscape For Archaeological Detection, Preservation, And Interpretation: A Case Study In High Resolution Location Modeling From The Blue Mountains Of Northeastern Oregon, Trent Skinner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Archaeological location modeling (ALM) is an important tool in most survey strategies, and has contributed substantially to economizing efforts to locate and characterize the archaeological record. The increasing availability of high resolution (<3m) airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) data has the potential to refine the application and ultimately the role of ALM. This research tests the precision and accuracy gained by incorporating lidar derived data into an ALM. The site records and other environmental data used in this study were all generated over the last four decades by the resource specialists of the Malheur National Forest. The Weights-of-Evidence (WofE) probability method (Bonham-Carter 1994) was used to produce two ALMs; one based on a 10m digital elevation model (DEM) created from satellite imaging, and the second from a 3m resolution lidar derived DEM. Independent variables (e.g., slope, aspect, distance to water, etc.) commonly used in ALM were largely replaced by index variables (e.g., slope position classification, topographic wetness index, etc.). The final models were classified into areas of high, medium, and low archaeological potential, then cross-validated against a reserved random dataset. Models were then compared using the Kvamme gain statistic and site to area frequency ratio. The 3m model demonstrated a significant improvement over the results obtained from the 10m model and the current probability model used in the study area. A number of factors including model resolution, statistical methodology, and the character of the independent and dependent variables all contributed to the increase in precision and accuracy. The incremental improvement in modeling efficiency demonstrated here will create time and cost saving in the management and preservation of cultural resources, and ultimately contribute to a better understanding of patterns of past human land use.

Gis Framework For Spatiotemporal Mapping Of Urban Flooding And Analyze Watershed Hydrological Response To Land Cover Change, Sayed Joinal Hossain Abedin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Urban flooding is a manmade disaster, and a recurrent problem in cities around the globe. Increased surface imperviousness due to urbanization along with inadequate drainage infrastructure system are the chief culprits for urban flooding. Flooding in an urban area brings about severe economic, structural, and environmental damages, and can be associated with casualties too. In order to evade flooding, an efficient flood model is imperative to study current flooding, and analyze flooding behavior to urban surface characteristics.

This research aims to develop a framework using Geographic Information System (GIS) to perform modeling and mapping of flood spatiotemporal variation in urban …

Prehistoric Foraging Strategies In The Piute Valley Of Southern Nevada, Christopher Alan Brosman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Piute Valley of Southern Nevada is an incredibly diverse but arid zone in the eastern portion of the Mojave Desert. Most of this diversity can be attributed to the elevation shifts ranging from the Colorado River basin to the peaks of the surrounding mountain ranges. These peaks and valleys provide a multitude of resource zones in which prehistoric hunter-gatherers could provision themselves throughout the year. For this thesis I have used archaeological survey, paleo-climate models, life-sciences data and ethnographic research to perform an in-depth land use analysis of prehistoric forager adaptations to this challenging but life-sustaining environment.

Recent investigations …