Archaeologists are creating ever-increasing amounts of textual data. So much in fact, that manual reading and inspection has become practically impossible. By leveraging computational approaches,... Show moreArchaeologists are creating ever-increasing amounts of textual data. So much in fact, that manual reading and inspection has become practically impossible. By leveraging computational approaches, it is possible to extract relevant information from this big data, allowing for more efficient research and new analyses. In this chapter, methods and techniques to extract information from archaeological texts through Machine Learning are introduced and discussed, with a focus on practical examples. After reading the chapter, you should have a clear grasp on the possibilities of text mining in archaeology, the current state of research, and enough information to start your own text analyses. Show less
This book presents a useful GIS procedure to study settlement patterns in landscape archaeology. In several Mediterranean regions archaeological sites have been mapped by fieldwalking surveys,... Show moreThis book presents a useful GIS procedure to study settlement patterns in landscape archaeology. In several Mediterranean regions archaeological sites have been mapped by fieldwalking surveys, producing large amounts of data. These legacy site-based survey data represent an important resource to study ancient settlement organization. Methodological procedures are necessary to cope with the limits of these data, and more importantly with the distortions on data patterns caused by biasing factors. This book develops and applies a GIS procedure to use legacy survey data in settlement pattern analysis. It consists of two parts. One part regards the assessment of biases that can affect the spatial patterns exhibited by survey data. The other part aims to shed light on the location preferences and settlement strategy of ancient communities underlying site patterns. In this book, a case-study shows how the method works in practice. As part of the research by the Landscapes of Early Roman Colonization project (NWO, Leiden University, KNIR) site-based datasets produced by survey projects in central-southern Italy are examined in a comparative framework to investigate settlement patterns in the early Roman colonial period (3rd century B.C.). Show less
The amount of 3D modelling applications in archaeology has increased enourmously over the last decade. 3D recording techniques allow researchers to quickly and accurately document... Show moreThe amount of 3D modelling applications in archaeology has increased enourmously over the last decade. 3D recording techniques allow researchers to quickly and accurately document archaeological evidence, and 3D reconstructions have created new possibilities to communicate the results to a larger public. In this latter case, however, numerous scholars have expressed their concern regarding the ethics of such digital representations, since they give prominence to a crystallized image of the past. The study presented here aims to make a practical contribution to a new understanding and use of 3D reconstructions, namely as “laboratories” to test hypotheses and visualize and evaluate alternative interpretations. In order to do so, an analysis of visual reconstructions of the early and late modern period is presented first, followed by a discussion of current applications of 3D digital reconstructions, with a special focus on cityscapes. Lastly, the implementation of a research-driven, intellectually transparent and GIS-based 3D reconstruction is proposed for the urban site of Koroneia, in Boeotia, Central Greece. With a strong focus on the automation and iteration of the reconstruction process, our 3D visualization provides an intuitive insight into hidden relationships and associations among data, and allows the creation and evaluation of alternative reconstruction hypotheses. Show less
