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Becky Seifried edited this page Feb 3, 2021 · 28 revisions

Sunoikisis Digital Cultural Heritage, Spring 2021

Session 6. Geographic Information Systems

Thursday Feb 25, 16:00 UK = 17:00 CET

Convenors: Piraye Hacıgüzeller (University of Antwerp), Rebecca Seifried (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/VNrPdG4sRgc

Slides: tba

Session outline

In this session we will introduce the basic concepts and building blocks of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), such as vector and raster data structures, attribute and spatial data, layering, and coordinate reference systems. We will then introduce GIS-based visibility analysis used to calculate visibility of places from one or more observer points, followed by a hands-on case study on the topic using the free QGIS tool. Finally we will give an introduction to cost functions frequently used in GIS-based cost distance analysis to analyse mobility across built environments and landscapes, accompanied with a case study from the literature.

Seminar readings

For discussion in this thread

  • (Two open access titles will be chosen from the list below. Please add suggestions below, not here.)

Further Reading

  • Donaldson, C., I.N. Gregory, and J.E. Taylor. 2017. "Locating the beautiful, picturesque, sublime and majestic: spatially analysing the application of aesthetic terminology in descriptions of the English Lake District." Journal of Historical Geography 56:43-60. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305748817300178
  • Field, S., C. Heitman, and H. Richards-Rissetto. 2019. “A Least Cost Analysis: Correlative Modeling of the Chaco Regional Road System.” Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 2(1):136-150. Available: https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.36
  • Gillings, M., P. Hacıgüzeller, and G. Lock (eds.). 2020. Archaeological Spatial Analysis: A Methodological Guide. Routledge. (Not open access.)
  • Knippers, R. 2009. "Introduction: Geometric Aspects of Mapping". Available: https://kartoweb.itc.nl/geometrics/
  • Lock, G., M. Kormann, and J. Pouncett. 2014. “Visibility and Movement: Towards a GIS-Based Integrated Approach.” In Computational Approaches to the Study of Movement in Archaeology, edited by S. Polla and P. Verhagen, 23–42. De Gruyter, Berlin. Available: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110288384.23
  • Murrieta-Flores, P., C. Donaldson, and I. Gregory. 2017. “GIS and Literary History: Advancing Digital Humanities research through the Spatial Analysis of historical travel writing and topographical literature.” Digital Humanities Quarterly 11. Available: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/11/1/000283/000283.html
  • Posluschny, A.G. 2010. "Over the Hills and Far Away? Cost Surface Based Models of Prehistoric Settlement Hinterlands." In: Frischer, B., J. Webb Crawford, and D. Koller (eds.) Making History Interactive. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). Proceedings of the 37th International Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States of America, March 22-26 2009. BAR International Series S2079. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 313-319. Available: http://proceedings.caaconference.org/files/2009/38_Posluschny_CAA2009.pdf
  • Rayne, L., J. Bradbury, D. Mattingly, G. Philip, R. Bewley, and A. Wilson. 2017. "From Above and on the Ground: Geospatial Methods for Recording Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa." Geosciences 7(4):100. Available: https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7040100
  • Seifried, R.M. and C.A.M. Gardner. 2019. "Reconstructing historical journeys with least-cost analysis: Colonel William Leake in the Mani Peninsula, Greece." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 24:391-411. Pre-print available: https://works.bepress.com/rebecca-seifried/11/
  • Turchetto, J. and G. Salemi. 2017. “Hide and Seek. Roads, Lookouts and Directional Visibility Cones in Central Anatolia.” Open Archaeology 3:69-82. Available: https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2017-0004
  • Weiss, C. 2010. "Determining Function of Pompeian Sidewalk Features through GIS Analysis." In: Frischer, B., J. Webb Crawford, and D. Koller (eds.) Making History Interactive. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). Proceedings of the 37th International Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States of America, March 22-26 2009. BAR International Series S2079. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 363-372. Available: http://proceedings.caaconference.org/files/2009/43_Weiss_CAA2009.pdf

Other resources

Exercise

  1. tba

(If you have any technical problems with this exercise, you may ask for help in this forum thread)

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