Overview

This book discusses the theoretical aspects and practical applications of GIS for intra-site analysis in archaeology. It has been previously argued that GIS is unable to manipulate three-dimensional data and therefore to represent an archaeological excavation, since three-dimensionality is the main characteristic of the excavated record. This book explores the extent to which archaeological data and GIS structures parallel one another and, through this discussion, it challenges ideas around the ability of the traditional archaeological record to represent multidimensional spaces. The book then argues that three-dimensional data and the use of modelling techniques in a three-dimensional GIS allow for a better and more nuanced understanding of the excavated archaeological record. Practical examples are provided from two specific excavation scenarios: the Neolithic site of Kouphovouno in Greece and the Mesolithic to Early Neolithic Hoge Vaart excavation in the Netherlands. A conceptual framework for representing spatial (and temporal) excavation information is outlined, and provides a blueprint for creating a model for storing, manipulating and analysing archaeological excavation data.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stefania Merlo
Publisher:   BAR Publishing
Imprint:   BAR Publishing
Volume:   2801
Dimensions:   Width: 21.00cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 29.70cm
Weight:   0.742kg
ISBN:  

9781407314723

ISBN 10:   1407314726
Pages:   186
Publication Date:   31 May 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Mixed media product
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures List of tables Preface Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Research motivation 1.2 Research objectives 1.3 Scope of research 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Conceptual level 1.4.2 Operational level 1.4.3 Implementation level 1.5 Structure of the book 2 Three-dimensional GIS and Excavation 2.1 3D GIS modelling of complex environments and processes: the state of the art 2.1.1 Geological modelling and the petroleum industry 2.1.2 Environmental modelling 2.1.3 Urban planning 2.1.4 Advantages and potentials of using 3D GIS for modelling complex phenomena 2.2 3D GIS: a working definition 2.3 Modelling and three-dimensional GIS for archaeological excavation 2.3.1 Models and modelling: a terminological clarification 2.3.2 Abstraction processes: from the field to the computer 2.3.3 Modelling archaeological subsurface data with 3D GIS: terms of reference 2.3.4 The construction and meaning of the archaeological data model 2.3.5 Multiple representations as a solution to model complex data 2.4 The state of art in the development of three-dimensional intra-site GIS: archaeological challenges and technical solutions 2.4.1 Early case studies of three-dimensional modelling for archaeological excavation 2.4.2 Two-and-a-half-dimensional modelling 2.4.3 Three-dimensional GIS for excavation: two procedures for reconstructing stratigraphy 2.4.4 From explorative visualisation to spatial patterning 3D GIS with a view 2.4.5 Towards dedicated 3D GIS architectures 2.4.6 Conclusion 2.5 Summary 3 Fundamentals of 3D Modelling and Visualisation within a GIS Environment 3.1 GIS models 3.1.1 What do GIS model? The representation of spatial data 3.1.2 Data structures: raster and vector. A debate or reconciliation? 3.1.3 Spatial and non-spatial attributes 3.1.4 GIS functions 3.2 Three-dimensional modelling in GIS 3.2.1 Review of representations and data models for 3D GIS 3.2.2 The construction and structuring of three-dimensional spatial models 3.2.3 Three-dimensional spatial models and their semantics - from geometry to topology 3.2.4 Three-dimensional GIS: analytical functionality requirements in a three-dimensional model 3.2.5 Summary 3.3 Three-dimensional visualisation 3.3.1 The role of visualisation in a 3D GIS environment 3.3.2 Visualisation and archaeological excavation 3.3.3 Visualisation requirements and technical issues 3.3.4 Summary and remarks 3.4 Conclusion 4 Making Visible: Archaeological Excavation in Three Dimensions 4.1 What is left to say? 4.1.1 Geometry and the space of excavation 4.1.2 Material and immaterial 4.1.3 Many places, many spaces 4.2 The production of archaeological space 4.3 Space in archaeological GIS 4.4 Critique and reassessment of some concepts used in excavation practice 4.4.1 On stratigraphy 4.4.2 On surface and depth 4.4.3 On lines, grids and objects 4.4.4 On mapping 4.4.5 On mimics 4.5 Reasoning about 3D archaeological space in a GIS framework 4.6 Concluding thoughts 5 Conceptual Design and Operational Framework 5.1 Designing and implementing data models in GIS: concepts and terminology 5.1.1 Design phases in modelling 5.1.2 The design process of the project 5.2 The conceptual framework 5.2.1 Conceptual framework: rationale of the system 5.2.2 The 3D spatio-temporal framework: underlying principles 5.2.3 The framework illustrated 5.3 The data model schema: design principles 5.3.1 Design concept 1. Use of a three-dimensional GIS 5.3.2 Design concept 2. Matters of scale: modelling sitescapes through time 5.3.3 Design concept 3. Information integration 5.3.4 Design concept 4. Representation of field-based and object-base excavation 5.3.5 Design concept 5. Expressing and extracting different information 5.3.6 Design concept 6. Connecting GIS and process/simulation models 5.4 Data model workflow and system architecture 5.4.1 Notes on the chosen system architecture 5.4.2 Primary observations database and data pre-processing 5.4.3 Creating three-dimensional primary and derived models 5.4.4 Model visualisation and assessment 5.5 Conclusions 6 Making Practical: Examples of Intra-site 3D GIS 6.1 The Kouphovouno project 6.1.1 Background 6.1.2 Excavation procedures 6.1.3 Data collection: procedures for recording three-dimensional shapes and relationships 6.2 The building of the excavation three-dimensional base model 6.2.1 Geometric model of contexts 6.2.2 Geometric modelling of post-holes 6.3 Analytical potential and limitations of context-based excavation in 3D 6.4 Considerations on three-dimensional GIS and stratigraphic excavations 6.5 The rescue excavation at Hoge Vaart 6.5.1 Background 6.5.2 Data collection 6.5.3 Palaeo-geological setting and chronology 6.5.4 Spatial processes examined at Hoge Vaart 6.6 Taking Hoge Vaart into the third dimension: the approach 6.6.1 Reassessing Hoge Vaart within a three-dimensional framework: data retrieval and preliminary evaluation 6.6.2 Formation processes and GIS modelling at macro-scale 6.6.3 Three-dimensional GIS analysis and visualisation at meso- and micro-level 6.7 Summary of the Hoge Vaart case study 6.8 Summary 7 Conclusions and Further Research 7.1 Summary 7.2 Conclusions 7.3 Further research Glossary References

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Author Information

Stefania Merlo is an archaeologist and teaches GIS in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies of the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa). She completed a BA in Classics at the University of Padova in 2000, followed by an MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on understanding the transformations of cultural landscapes through long-term, multidimensional models that incorporate large datasets on environment, culture and society with the use of quantitative and computational methods, in particular geographic information systems and remote sensing. Her areas of interest are the arid landscapes of Southern Libya, Algeria, Botswana and South Africa, where she has conducted fieldwork in the past years and documented settlement strategies from the first millennium AD to the present. More recently, she has worked at the development of participatory GIS approaches for the documentation of the recent past in the island of Mograt (Sudan) and at the integration of cultural information in national spatial data infrastructures that are used for decision making and national development policies in Southern Africa.

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