A GIS approach for predicting prehistoric site locations.
Use of geographic information system (GIS)-based predictive mapping to locate areas of high potential for prehistoric archaeological sites is becoming increasingly popular among archaeologists. Knowledge of the environmental variables influencing activities of original inhabitants is used to produce GIS layers representing the spatial distribution of those variables. The GIS layers are then analyzed to identify locations where combinations of environmental variables match patterns observed at known prehistoric sites. Presented are the results of a study to locate high-potential areas for prehistoric sites in a largely unsurveyed area of 39,000 acres in the Upper Chesapeake Bay region, including details of the analysis process. The project used environmental data from over 500 known sites in other parts of the region and the results corresponded well with known sites in the study area.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 11926
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/EA/CP-99754; TRN: AH200119%%123
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 19th Annual ESRI User Conference, San Diego, CA (US), 07/26/1999--07/30/1999; Other Information: PBD: 4 Aug 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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