Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Using Virtual Reality And Photogrammetry To Enrich 3d Object Identity, Cole Juckette, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Hector Eluid Guerra Aldana, Norman Martinez

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The creation of digital 3D models for cultural heritage is commonplace. With the advent of efficient and cost effective technologies archaeologists are making a plethora of digital assets. This paper evaluates the identity of 3D digital assets and explores how to enhance or expand that identity by integrating photogrammetric models into VR. We propose that when a digital object acquires spatial context from its virtual surroundings, it gains an identity in relation to that virtual space, the same way that embedding the object with metadata gives it a specific identity through its relationship to other information. We explore this concept …

Chipping Through Time: The Evolution Of Lithic Spatial Organization At The Bridge River Pithouse Village, British Columbia, Ethan P. Ryan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archaeological investigations at Housepit 54 within the Bridge River site have, to date, exposed 15 discreet floors primarily dating to ca. 1500-1000 cal. B.P. In this thesis, the spatial distributions of lithic artifacts from every floor are examined. Questions will be addressed specifically towards formation processes and the potential relationships between the patterning of lithic distributions as they relate to hearth-centered activity areas or domestic areas and fluctuations in estimated population. In addition, this thesis explores spatial organization as a cultural trait or concept that can be transmitted through time. Using the same methodological and theoretical approach for each floor, …

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 Analysis Of Dvāravatī Dharmacakras And The Rise Of Buddhism In Thailand, Areerut Patnukao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how GIS as well as spatial and statistical analyses could be used to advance the understanding of Dvāravatī settlement and Dharmacakras locations. The research employs archaeological and geographical parameters to measure and quantify the patterns of Dvāravatī settlements, Dharmacakra locations, their interrelationship, and their relationship with environmental setting. The different types of spatial analyses, parameter settings within each analysis, and approaches are used to examine and explore the differences and commonalities of these variables at three different geographic levels: national, regional, and river basin levels.

Four distinct approaches are incorporated in this study. Chi-Square analysis shows significant …

The Spatial Ordering Of Nabataea: An Integrated Analysis Of The Geography, Architecture, And Morphology Of Nabataean Petra, Christopher Clifton Angel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Nabataean city of Petra is well known for its sandstone architecture and rock-hewn funerary landscape. Over the last few decades, numerous studies examined their history, culture, art, and architecture. The few studies that assessed the urban space of Petra focused on the functional properties of individual architectural forms and their nominal placement within the overall landscape. This study focused on the spatial configurations of architecture as relational to the dynamics of Nabataean politics and ritual where shifts in social order manifested similar shifts in spatial order which in turn produced and reproduced forms of social order. The production of …

Geospatial Data On Parade: The Results And Implications Of The Gis Analysis Of Remote Sensing And Archaeological Excavation Data At Fort York’S Central Parade Ground, Anatolijs Venovcevs, Blake Williams, John Dunlop, Daniel Kellogg

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This article presents a case study on the application of geographical information systems (GIS) in the context of military archaeology at the Fort York National Historic Site (AjGu-26) in Toronto, Ontario. By employing GIS to amalgamate data from historic mapping, ground penetrating radar, LiDAR, and 30 years of archaeological investigation, the authors reconstruct the historic landscape at the central parade ground of this national historic site. In doing so, they identify the remains of an early 19th-century vice-regal building that served as the official residence of the lieutenant governors of Upper Canada before the American forces burned it down in …

Before Abandonment: Social Change In Pre-Colonial Housepit 54, Bridge River Site (Eerl4), British Columbia, Kathryn L. Bobolinski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Housepit 54 at the Bridge River pithouse village in south-central British Columbia provides a glimpse into the complex cultural practices that occurred in this area in the past. This village, which includes approximately 80 semi-subterranean structures, was occupied during four periods, approximately 1800- 1600 cal. B.P., 1600-1300 cal. B.P., 1300-1000 cal. B.P. and 500-100 cal. B.P, firmly placing the site within both a historic and a pre-Colonial context. The two pre-Colonial floors, IIb (1288-1058 cal B.P.) and IIa (1184-1050 cal B.P.), that represent the occupation of Housepit 54 directly prior to the pre-Colonial villages abandonment are the focus of this …

A Landscape Of Water And Waste: Heritage Legacies And Environmental Change In The Mesabi Iron Range, John Baeten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation explores the intersection between mining technology, industrial heritage, and environmental history, using iron mining in the Mesabi Range of the Lake Superior Iron District as its core case study. What impact did technological shifts in iron mining and ore processing have on the environment of the Lake Superior basin? How did the environmental changes wrought from low-grade iron ore mining and processing, such as the expansion of open-pits and the production of tailings, affect different communities in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range? And finally, how have the environmental legacies of iron mining been remembered and memorialized, or ignored and forgotten?

Gis In Archaeology: The Pedestrian Survey Of Dana Island In Turkey, Noah Kaye, Gunder Varinlioglu, Nicholas K. Rauh

Purdue GIS Day

An international team of archaeologists conducted a surface survey of the remains on Dana Island, ancient Pithussae, near Silifke in south Coastal Turkey. The island sits 2 km offshore and is uninhabited. Architectural remains of stone quarries, large cisterns, houses and churches extend approximately 1.6 km along its western coast. At the crest of the mountain that rises above the shore stands the remains of an Iron Age fortress incorporated into later Byzantine structures. Relying on a base map constructed of the Google earth view of the island, digitized topographical maps, and an aerial photograph from 1990, the pedestrian team …

Past Meets Future: Combining Gis, 3d Technologies, And Legacy Data To Reanalyze Ceramics At Copan, Honduras, Stephanie Sterling, Heather Richards-Rissetto, René Viel

UCARE: Research Products

The archaeological site of Copán—a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Honduras—was a primary center for cultural and economic exchange in the Maya world from the fifth to ninth centuries. Our research investigates the sociopolitical climate of the city immediately preceding this collapse. This poster presents the results of a pilot study intended to evaluate the potential of using a combination of digital technologies and legacy data to reanalyze a subset of diagnostic ceramics from select sites outside of Copan’s urban core. Our methods involved:

(1) Applying photogrammetry to generate 3D models for approximately 30 potentially temporally-diagnostic ceramic types

(2) Digitizing, …

3d Tool Evaluation And Workflow For An Ecological Approach To Visualizing Ancient Socio-Environmental Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Shona Sanford-Long, Jack Kerby-Miller

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Architectural reconstructions are the centerpieces of ancient landscape visualization. When present, vegetation is relegated to the background, resulting in underutilized plant data—an integral data source for archaeological interpretation—thus limiting the capacity to take advantage of 3D visualization for studying ancient socio-environmental dynamics. Our long-term objective is to develop methods of 3D landscape visualization that have value for examining changes in land use and settlement patterns. To begin to work toward this objective, we have (1) identified 3D tools and techniques for vegetation modeling and landscape visualization, (2) evaluated the pros and cons of these tools, (3) investigated biological and ecological …

The Taphonomic Factors On Human Remains Inside Chullpas: Marcajirca, Peru, Samantha Lauren Lininger

Masters Theses

This study explored the taphonomic factors that contributed to the preservation of human skeletal remains inside ancient above-ground tomb in Marcajirca, Peru. This study incorporated one hundred and eighteen bones from three chullpas. Five taphonomic factors were examined: bone type, plant activity, root presence, weathering, and cultural factors. Surface layers inside each chullpa were analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Chi-square tests were employed to investigate preservation and taphonomic factors. The results from the statistical tests indicated that there was a significant difference in the taphonomic factors on different bone types. Chullpa 6 was significant because it was unique …

Toolstone Use In Ozark Prehistory: Assessing Adaptations To A Lithic Dichotomy In The Boston Mountains And Springfield Plateau, Luke Allen Morris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toolstone use in the Ozark Mountains is a reactionary process reliant on how the landscape provides or constrains chipped stone for prehistoric populations. These technological adaptations are recognized at sites throughout the area, but no regional assessment of lithic assemblages provides answers as to why certain stones are used at a particular location. This thesis employs a five step mass analysis of lithic assemblages, and GIS visualizations to observe how the organization of stone technologies vary based on location within contrasting geologic contexts. The chert-bearing Springfield Plateau, and the Boston Mountains with siltstone, are two neighboring dichotomous landscapes that illustrate …

Spatial Analysis Of Archaeological Assemblages From The Late Ceramic Age (Ad 400-1400) Site Of Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies, Kara I. Casto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) to examine the spatial relationships between the assemblages of major artifact and ecofact categories at the Late Ceramic Age (AD 400-1400) site of Grand Bay, Carriacou. In addition, the study examines how these assemblages formed through various cultural and natural formation processes and have been affected by recent episodes of coastal erosion. Previous archaeological research for this region of the Caribbean is lacking, but with the determined efforts of the Carriacou Archaeological Field Project, Grand Bay's role has been brought to the forefront of current investigations answering questions about pre-Columbian migration …

At The Confluence Of Gis And Geochemistry: Identifying Geochemical Correlates Of Ripley Engraved Caddo Ceramics, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

In this poster, we discuss a new approach to the identification and definition of spatial trends in archeologically-recovered ceramics associated with geochemical results produced using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Using all of the Ripley Engraved INAA samples, we posit that clays in the Claiborne and Wilcox Groups can be successfully demarcated by sodium (Na), cerium (Ce), and zinc (Zn). Using a subset of those data from the Big Cypress Creek basin, we find that ceramics manufactured in three different Caddo political communities can be successfully demarcated based upon differential concentrations of arsenic (As), iron (Fe), and vanadium (V) found …

Site Location Modeling And Prehistoric Rock Shelter Selection On The Upper Cumberland Plateau Of Tennessee, Lucinda M. Langston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using data collected from 2 archaeological surveys of the Upper Cumberland Plateau (UCP), Pogue Creek Gorge and East Obey, a site location model was developed for prehistoric rock shelter occupation in the region. Further, the UCP model was used to explore factors related to differential site selection of rock shelters. Different from traditional approaches such as those that use (aspatial) logistic regression, the UCP model was developed using spatial logistic regression. However, models were also generated using other regression-based approaches in an effort to demonstrate the need for a spatial approach to archaeological site location modeling. Based on the UCP …

From Mounds To Maps To Models: Visualizing Ancient Architecture Across Landscapes, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Since the onset of settlement pattern studies in the 1950s, landscape mapping projects have become an archaeological mainstay. Remote sensing technologies such as lidar, photogrammetry, and SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) steadily reveal new archaeological sites. For landscape archaeology, the detection and mapping of small architectural complexes and households offers important data to contextualize larger (often already known) sites and perform regional analyses. However, because the majority of sites remain unexcavated, analysis is limited, and yet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and 3D Visualization are expanding the possible uses for older and newly-acquired data on unexcavated mounds. This paper describes a GIS …

Concluding Thoughts On The Finger Lakes National Forestarchaeology Project, James A. Delle

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This is a conclusion to the research compiled in this issue. Delle impresses the importance of GIS for this research as a burgeoning technology with much potential in this field of study.

Spatial Analysis And Archaeological Resources In The Fingerlakes National Forest, Thomas W. Cuddy

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The objective of this article is to' test how some of the more sophisticated analytical capabilities of GIS can be applied to the data set of the Hector Backbone site in the Finger Lakes National Forest. In doing so it demonstrates how GIS can be used to model the spatial characteristics of the data compiled from the site.

Analyzing The Settlement Pattern Of The Burnt Hill Study Area, Karen B. Wehner, Karen G. Holmberg

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This article examines the strategies used by communities of farmers when faced wih economic decline. This is accomplished by analyzing historic map data from 1850-1940 to recreate and interpret settlement changes.

Analyzing Farm Layout And Farmstead Architecture, Mark Smith, James Boyle

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This article refines the analysis through a discussion of how arhcaeological data recovered from individual farmstead ites were incorporated into the GIS database.

Introduction To The Finger Lakes National Forest Archaeology Project, James A. Delle, James Boyle, Thomas W. Cuddy

Northeast Historical Archaeology

An introduction to the volume, which presents research conducted at the convergence of two projects. One, a survey

Volume Abstract, David B. Landon, James A. Delle, Patrick J. Heaton

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This volume presents research conducted at the convergence of two projects: the first a survey, inventory, and assessment of historic sites located within the boundaries of the Finger Lakes National Forest, a small national forest located in central New York; the second a pedagogical experiment conducted in the spring of 1998, the goal of which was to assess how a rather typical CRM project could be used to train graduate students in archaeology in manipulating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to control and interpret archaeological data. This convergence resulted in the construction of a GIS-based data management system for historic-period …

Appendix: Creating A Gis Project In Arcview, Thomas W. Cuddy

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This appendix was designed to introduce the unfamiliar to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which the Finger Lakes Archaeological Project was designed in application for. This appendix provides the terminology and concepts surrounding the GID technology. It gives a condesnsed overview of the methods of GIS as well as some of the details of the application, ArcView, also used in the Finger Lakes Archaeological Project.

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 …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

Design Of A Comprehensive Geographic Information System For The Administration Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas National Historic Trail, Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s (ATCOFA) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory were engaged by the National Park Service (NPS) National Trails System-Intermountain Region to provide GIS services supporting the NPS’s development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (ELTE). The scope of work was completed under an agreement with the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Research Program at Texas A&M University. ATCOFA assisted the NPS in the coordination of local landowner and other local stakeholder contacts, conducted archival research …

Energetic Path Finding Across Massive Terrain Data, Andrew N. Tsui

Master's Theses

Before there were airplanes, cars, trains, boats, or bicycles, the primary means of transportation was on foot. Unfortunately, many of the trails used by ancient travelers have long since been abandoned. We present a software tool which can help visualize and predict where these forgotten trails might lie through the use of a human-centered cost metric. By comparing the paths generated by our software with known historical trails, we demonstrate how the tool can indicate likely trails used by ancient travelers. In addition, this new tool provides novel visualizations to better help the user understand alternate paths, effect of terrain, …

Gis Aided Archaeological Research Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas With Focus On The Landscape And River Crossings Along El Camino Carretera., Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Many generations of indigenous pathways through the forests of eastern Texas have their origins obscured in antiquity. Utilized by early European explorers, these pathways became modified through heavy use and the expansions and improvements needed to accommodate easy passage of European horses and carts and finally the heavy wagons of Anglo-American settlers. The first road through Texas, El Camino Real de Los Tejas, utilized portions of these early trails.

El Camino Carretera (known as the cart road) is an early segment of El Camino Real de los Tejas that crossed the Sabine River at the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. …

Settlement Patterns In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Carl Philipp Lipo, Robert C. Dunnell

Anthropology Datasets

No abstract provided.