Quantitative methods in archaeology: A review of recent trends and developments

Aldenderfer, Mark

doi:10.1007/bf02446161

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Although the resources and specific needs of individual researchers and institutions may differ, a shared interest in the meaning of space should encourage us to engage with spatial technologies. After all, archaeological data are inherently spatial (Aldenderfer 1998).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GIS also make it possible to model and investigate visual perceptions and cognitive values associated with the placement of objects, structures or settlements in geographic space. Although it has been argued that GIS and spatial analysis are not necessarily synonymous (Aldenderfer 1998), nowadays the distinction is blurred since most GIS software can perform basic spatial analysis.…”

Section: Background To Archaeological Applications Of Gis In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

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Past, present and future applications of Geographic Information Systems in Zimbabwean archaeology

Katsamudanga

2009

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Advances in information technology, especially developments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), have led to an exponential growth of spatial archaeology worldwide. However, the status and impact of this technology in developing countries are still to be fully appraised. This paper reviews applications of Geographic Information Systems in Zimbabwean archaeology, highlighting the issues addressed and the constraints being faced. The paper also advances the proposition that a meaningful exploitation of Geographic Information Systems technology requires understanding it as a science in its own right. That way it is hoped that researchers will develop innovative approaches for investigating the exploitation and meaning of space among prehistoric communities in southern Africa.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background To Archaeological Applications Of Gis In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

Past, present and future applications of Geographic Information Systems in Zimbabwean archaeology

Katsamudanga

2009

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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“…Elliott et al 1978;O'Shea 1978;Chadwick 1979;Gunn 1979) tended to be narrower in scope than had previously been the case, focusing in on only part of a larger problem rather than attempting to predict the content of the archaeological record by simulating an entire system of behaviour. Conversely, the more ambitious 'whole society' (Aldenderfer 1998) simulations (e.g. Hosler et al 1977;Cooke and Renfrew 1979;Zubrow 1981) were more used for heuristic purposes, to generate rather than test hypotheses.…”

Section: A Survey Of Archaeological Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous commentary on the history of archaeological simulation is unanimous that the 1990s saw a resurgence of archaeological simulation (Aldenderfer 1998;Costopoulos and Lake 2010;Lake 2001aLake , 2008McGlade 2005;Wright 2007). However, as already noted, archaeological simulation did not entirely die out during the 1980s, so it is worth considering the exact nature of this resurgence.…”

Section: Renaissance (The 1990s)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Archaeological Simulation

Lake

2013

J Archaeol Method Theory

118

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This paper provides an up-to-date history of archaeological computer simulation, starting with the early 1970s simulation models, but paying particular attention to those developed over the past 20-25 years. It revises earlier accounts of archaeological simulation by proposing an alternation between programmatic phases, in which published work tends to be about simulation as a method, and mature phases in which there is greater emphasis on the substantive results of simulation experiments. The paper concludes that the burgeoning interest in computer simulation since circa 2000 is largely characterized by mature application in areas where it fits naturally into existing inferential frameworks (e.g., certain strands of evolutionary archaeology) but that explicitly "sociological" simulation remains a challenge.

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“…Shanks and Tilley 1987b). The interweaving of archaeological computer simulation and archaeological theory is teased out in reviews by Aldenderfer (1998), McGlade (2005) and Lake (2013), but particular points of contact between post-1980 archaeological theory and agent-based modelling include agreement that "historical processes involve the actions of self-aware individuals" (Kohler 2000, p.3) and the possibility of explicitly modelling cognition (Biskowski 1992;Doran 2000;Mithen 1989). That said, the detail of how agent-based models represent individuals and their relations with one another raises questions about the kind of rationality employed by agents (Lake 2004) and the locus of causality in human societies (Beekman 2005), and it is clear that some post-processual archaeologists (e.g.…”

Section: The Conceptual Accessibility Of Agent-based Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%