Technological advances have had a profound impact on the way data has been processed, and thus, the amount of information produced. Since the dawn of the computer age, archaeologists have enjoyed an increase in analytical potential. The rapid storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data afforded by computers has resulted in analyses that weren't even imagined as late as the 1950s. Undoubtedly, complex analyses could have been conducted without computers, but the time required made them extremely impractical. Imagine doing a simple cluster analysis on only two attributes of a scant dozen projectile points. Even if a calculator were used, it would take hours (perhaps days) to complete. When complete, it would have to be double checked for errors and plotted by hand. With a computer, all the required steps could be accomplished in minutes.
Like the developments in computer technology, geographic information systems (GIS) provide the archaeologist with a whole new set of tools to further push the envelope of data analysis. Consider the spatial nature in which archaeological data is gathered. The precise location of every artifact, ecofact, architectural unit, site, water resource, etc. is carefully calculated and recorded. Not only can GIS handle such data easily, it enables the archaeologist to combine various types of geographical data (hydrography, elevation, soil content, etc.) to produce large-scale, in-depth analyses which were never before practical. Archaeologists have always been interested in the complex regional questions, such as settlement pattern studies or site catchment analysis, but only recently have they had the tools to give these topics the attention they warrant.
Often lumped in with GIS, there are several other related computer tools which are proving useful to archaeologists. These include computer cartography, 3D rendering, and computer animation. These techniques are especially useful for creating accurate maps and models, allowing the archaeologists to view sites and data in both two and three dimensions.
For additional information regarding GIS in archaeology, please refer to the reading list below.
Kathleen M.S. Allen, Stanton W. Green, and Ezra B.W. Zubrow, eds. Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology. London:Taylor and Francis, 1990. (Ch. 1 and table of contents)
John C. Antenucci et al. Geographic Information Systems: A Guide to the Technology. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1991. (Chs. 1 and 2)
Harold L. Dibble and Shannon P. McPherron. On the computerization of archaeological projects. Journal of Field Archaeology 15 (1988): 431-440.
Ancient Pompeii culture revealed by GIS. GIS World, December 1990, 26-31.
Stefano Bruschini. Imaging Pompeii. Archaeology 44 (1991) (2): 32-35.
2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SPACIAL DISTRIBUTIONS
Kenneth L. Kvamme. Geographic information systems in regional archaeological research and data management. Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 1, ed. M.B. Schiffer, 139-203. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press, 1989.
Kenneth L. Kvamme. One-sample tests in regional archaeological analysis: New possibilities through computer technology. American Antiquity 55 (1990): 367-381.
Kenneth L. Kvamme. The use of geographic information systems for modeling archaeological site distributions. Geographic Informations Systems in Government, Vol. 1, ed. Bruce K. Opitz, 345-362. Hampton, Virginia: A. Deepak Publishing, 1986.
3. GIS AND DATABASE CONCEPTS
John C. Antenucci et al. Geographic Information Systems: A Guide to the Technology. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1991. (Ch. 5)
William E. Huxhold. An introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. (Ch. 2)
Gail Langran. Time in Geographic Information Systems. London: Taylor and Francis, 1991. (Ch. 1 and table of contents)
4. PRINCIPLES OF CARTOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
Kenneth E. Foote. Mapping the past: A survey of microcomputer cartography. Historical Methods 25 (1992): 121-131.
5. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF GIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
David L. Clarke. Spatial information in archaeology. Spacial Archaeology, ed. D.L. Clarke, 1-32. New York: Academic Press, 1977.
Jay K. Johnson, Thomas L. Sever, Scott L.H. Madry, and Harry T. Hoff. Remote sensing and GIS analysis in large scale survey design in north Mississippi. Southeastern Archaeology 7 (1988): 124-131.
Kenneth L. Kvamme. Terrain form analysis of archaeological location through geographic information systems. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 1991, ed. G. Lock and J. Moffett, 127-136. Oxford: BAR International Series 577, 1992.
David F. Overstreet, Charles R. Smith and Andrew J. Bruzewicz. The archaeology of lost landscapes - geographic information systems at Coralville Lake, Iowa. Geographic Information Systems in Government, Vol. 1, ed. Bruce K. Opitz, 363-377. Hampton, Virginia: A. Deepak Publishing, 1986.
6. SETTLEMENT PATTERN ANALYSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Jeffery Parsons. Archaeological settlement patterns. Annual Review of Anthropology 1 (1972):127-150.
Stephen H. Savage. Modelling the late archaic social landscape. Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology. Kathleen M.S. Allen, Stanton W. Green, and Ezra B.W. Zubrow, eds., 330-355. London:Taylor and Francis, 1990.
7. DATA SOURCES, PREPROCESSING, AND GEOCODING
Jeffery Star and John Estes. Geographic Information Systems: An Introduction. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1991. (Chs. 5 and 6)
8. SITE CATCHMENT ANALYSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Eleazer D. Hunt. Upgrading site-catchment analyses with the use of GIS: investigating the settlement patterns of horticulturalists. World Archaeology 24 (1992) (2): 283-311.
9. COORDINATE SYSTEMS AND MAP PROJECTIONS
William E. Huxhold. An introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. (Ch. 6)
Phillip C. Muehrcke. Map Use: Reading-analysis-interpretation. Madison, Wisconsin: J.F. Publications, 1986. (Ch. 7)
10. DISTRIBUTION STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Ian Hodder and Clive Orton. Spacial Analysis in Archaeology. Cambridge: Caimbridge University Press, 1976. (Chs. on archaeological distribution maps and the association between distributions)
11. ACCURACY OF SPATIAL DATABASES AND MANAGING ERROR
P.A. Burrough. Principles of Geographic Information Systems for Land Resources Assessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. (Ch. 6)
Michael Goodchild and Sucharita Gopal, eds. The Accuracy of Spatial Databases. Bristol, Pennsylvamia: Taylor and Francis, 1986. (browse only)
12. SITE-SPECIFIC APPROACHES
Kenneth L. Kvamme. Determining empirical relationships between the natural environment and prehistoric site locations: a hunter-gatherer example. For Concordance in Archaeological Anlysis: Bridging Data Structure, Quantitative Technique, and Theory. Christopher Carr, ed., 208-238. Kansas City: Westport Publishers, 1985.
Jean-Phillipe Rigaud and Jan F. Simek. Interpreting spatial patterns at the Grotte XV. The Interpretation of Archaeological Spatial Patterning, Ellen M. Kroll and T. Douglas Price, eds., 199-219. New York: Plenum, 1991.
13. PROJECT PLANNING, SUMMARY, AND PROSPECTS
Kathleen M.S. Allen, Stanton W. Green, and Ezra B.W. Zubrow. Interpreting space. Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology, Kathleen M.S. Allen, Stanton W. Green, and Ezra B.W. Zubrow, eds., 330-355. London:Taylor and Francis, 1990.