Computational archaeology
Encyclopedia
Computational archaeology describes computer-based analytical methods for the study of long-term human behaviour and behavioural evolution. As with other sub-disciplines that have prefixed 'computational' to their name (e.g. computational biology
, computational physics
and computational sociology
), the term is reserved for (generally mathematical) methods that could not realistically be performed without the aid of a computer.
Computational archaeology may include the use of geographical information system
s (GIS), especially when applied to spatial analyses such as viewshed
analysis and least-cost path analysis as these approaches are sufficiently computationally complex that they are extremely difficult if not impossible to implement without the processing power of a computer. Likewise, some forms of statistical and mathematical modelling
, and the computer simulation
of human behaviour
and behavioural evolution using software tools such as Swarm
or Repast would also be impossible to calculate without computational aid. The application of a variety of other forms of complex and bespoke software to solve archaeological problems, such as human perception and movement within built environments using software such as University College London's
Space Syntax
program, also falls under the term 'computational archaeology'.
Computational archaeology is also known as archaeological informatics (Burenhult 2002, Huggett and Ross 2004) or archaeoinformatics (sometimes abbreviated as "AI", but not to be confused with artificial intelligence
).
methods and computer technology if they become aware of the specific pitfalls and potentials inherent in the archaeological data and research process. AI science is an emerging discipline that attempts to uncover, quantitatively represent and explore specific properties and patterns of archaeological information. Fundamental research on data and methods for a self-sufficient archaeological approach to information processing
produces quantitative methods and computer software specifically geared towards archaeological problem solving and understanding.
AI science is capable of complementing and enhancing almost any area of scientific archaeological research. It incorporates a large part of the methods and theories developed in quantitative archaeology
since the 1960s but goes beyond former attempts at quantifying archaeology by exploring ways to represent general archaeological information and problem structures as computer algorithms and data structures. This opens archaeological analysis to a wide range of computer-based information processing methods fit to solve problems of great complexity. It also promotes a formalized understanding of the discipline's research objects and creates links between archaeology and other quantitative disciplines, both in methods and software technology. Its agenda can be split up in two major research themes that complement each other:
There is already a large body of literature on the use of quantitative methods and computer-based analysis in archaeology. The development of methods and applications is best reflected in the annual publications of the CAA conference (see external links section at bottom). At least two journals, the Italian Archeologia e Calcolator and the British Archaeological Computing Newsletter, are dedicated to archaeological computing methods. AI Science contributes to many fundamental research topics, including but not limited to:
AI science advocates a formalized approach to archaeological inference and knowledge building. It is interdisciplinary in nature, borrowing, adapting and enhancing method and theory from numerous other disciplines such as computer science
(e.g. algorithm and software design, database
design and theory), geoinformation
science (spatial statistics
and modeling, geographic information systems), artificial intelligence
research (supervised classification, fuzzy logic
), ecology
(point pattern analysis), applied mathematics
(graph theory
, probability theory
) and statistics
.
provides the ultimate known way of abstracting and extending our scientific abilities past the limits of intuitive
cognition. Quantitative approaches to archaeological information handling and inference constitute a critical body of scientific methods in archaeological research. They provide the tools, algebra
, statistics
and computer algorithms, to process information too voluminous or complex for purely cognitive, informal inference
. They also build a bridge between archaeology and numerous quantitative sciences such as geophysics
, geoinformation
sciences and applied statistics. And they allow archaeological scientists to design and carry out research in a formal, transparent and comprehensible way.
Being an emerging field of research, AI science is currently a rather dispersed discipline in need of stronger, well-funded and institutionalized embedding, especially in academic teaching. Despite its evident progress and usefulness, today's quantitative archaeology is often inadequately represented in archaeological training and education. Part of this problem may be misconceptions about the seeming conflict between mathematics and humanistic archaeology.
Nevertheless, digital excavation technology, modern heritage management and complex research issues require skilled students and researchers to develop new, efficient and reliable means of processing an ever-growing mass of untackled archaeological data and research problems. Thus, providing students of archaeology with a solid background in quantitative sciences such as mathematics, statistics and computer sciences seems today more important than ever.
Currently, universities based in the UK provide the largest share of study programmes for prospective quantitative archaeologists, with many institutes in Italy developing a strong profile quickly (see links at the bottom). In Germany, the country's first lecturer's position in AI science ("Archäoinformatik") was established in 2005 at the University of Kiel (Benjamin Ducke, now at Oxford Archaeology). This was in 2005. Actually the first and only position of a regular junior professorship for "Archäoinformatik" is established in the field of Classical Archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin. There is now the center for studying "Archäoinformatik" in Germany.
The most important platform for students and researchers in quantitative archaeology and AI science is the international conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) which has been in existence for more than 30 years now and is held in a different city of Europe each year. Vienna's city archaeology unit also hosts an annual event that is quickly growing in international importance (see links at bottom).
), and teaching and training quantitative archaeologists.
Computational biology
Computational biology involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems...
, computational physics
Computational physics
Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical algorithms to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists...
and computational sociology
Computational sociology
Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
), the term is reserved for (generally mathematical) methods that could not realistically be performed without the aid of a computer.
Computational archaeology may include the use of geographical information system
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
s (GIS), especially when applied to spatial analyses such as viewshed
Viewshed
A viewshed is an area of land, water, or other environmental element that is visible to the human eye from a fixed vantage point. The term is used widely in such areas as urban planning, archaeology, and military science...
analysis and least-cost path analysis as these approaches are sufficiently computationally complex that they are extremely difficult if not impossible to implement without the processing power of a computer. Likewise, some forms of statistical and mathematical modelling
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...
, and the computer simulation
Computer simulation
A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
of human behaviour
Human Behaviour
"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
and behavioural evolution using software tools such as Swarm
Swarm (simulation)
Swarm is the name of a multi-agent simulation package, useful for simulating the interaction of agents and their emergent collective behaviour. Swarm was initially developed at the Santa Fe Institute in the mid-1990s, and since 1999 has been maintained by the non-profit Swarm Development...
or Repast would also be impossible to calculate without computational aid. The application of a variety of other forms of complex and bespoke software to solve archaeological problems, such as human perception and movement within built environments using software such as University College London's
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
Space Syntax
Space syntax
The term space syntax encompasses a set of theories and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations. Originally it was conceived by Bill Hillier, Julienne Hanson and colleagues at The Bartlett, University College London in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a tool to help architects...
program, also falls under the term 'computational archaeology'.
Computational archaeology is also known as archaeological informatics (Burenhult 2002, Huggett and Ross 2004) or archaeoinformatics (sometimes abbreviated as "AI", but not to be confused with artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
).
Origins and objectives
In recent years, it has become clear that archaeologists will only be able to harvest the full potential of quantitativeQuantitative research
In the social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to...
methods and computer technology if they become aware of the specific pitfalls and potentials inherent in the archaeological data and research process. AI science is an emerging discipline that attempts to uncover, quantitatively represent and explore specific properties and patterns of archaeological information. Fundamental research on data and methods for a self-sufficient archaeological approach to information processing
Information processing
Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...
produces quantitative methods and computer software specifically geared towards archaeological problem solving and understanding.
AI science is capable of complementing and enhancing almost any area of scientific archaeological research. It incorporates a large part of the methods and theories developed in quantitative archaeology
Processual archaeology
Processual archaeology is a form of archaeological theory that had its genesis in 1958 with Willey and Phillips' work Method and Theory in American Archeology, in which the pair stated that "American archaeology is anthropology or it is nothing" , a rephrasing of Frederic William Maitland's...
since the 1960s but goes beyond former attempts at quantifying archaeology by exploring ways to represent general archaeological information and problem structures as computer algorithms and data structures. This opens archaeological analysis to a wide range of computer-based information processing methods fit to solve problems of great complexity. It also promotes a formalized understanding of the discipline's research objects and creates links between archaeology and other quantitative disciplines, both in methods and software technology. Its agenda can be split up in two major research themes that complement each other:
- Fundamental research (theoretical AI science) on the structure, properties and possibilities of archaeological data, inferenceInferenceInference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
and knowledge building. This includes modeling and managing fuzzinessFuzzy measure theoryFuzzy measure theory considers a number of special classes of measures, each of which is characterized by a special property. Some of the measures used in this theory are plausibility and belief measures, fuzzy set membership function and the classical probability measures...
and uncertaintyUncertaintyUncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including physics, philosophy, statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science...
in archaeological data, scale effects, optimal samplingSampling (statistics)In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
strategies and spatio-temporal effects. - Development of computer algorithms and software (applied AI science) that make this theoretical knowledge available to the user.
There is already a large body of literature on the use of quantitative methods and computer-based analysis in archaeology. The development of methods and applications is best reflected in the annual publications of the CAA conference (see external links section at bottom). At least two journals, the Italian Archeologia e Calcolator and the British Archaeological Computing Newsletter, are dedicated to archaeological computing methods. AI Science contributes to many fundamental research topics, including but not limited to:
- advanced statisticsStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
in archaeology, spatial and temporal archaeological data analysis - bayesian analysis and advanced probabilityProbabilityProbability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
models, fuzzinessFuzzy measure theoryFuzzy measure theory considers a number of special classes of measures, each of which is characterized by a special property. Some of the measures used in this theory are plausibility and belief measures, fuzzy set membership function and the classical probability measures...
and uncertaintyUncertaintyUncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including physics, philosophy, statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science...
in archaeological data - scale-related phenomena and scale transgressions
- intrasite analysis (representations of stratigraphyStratigraphyStratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
, 3D analysis, artefactArtifact (archaeology)An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
distributions) - landscape analysis (territorial modeling, visibility analysis)
- optimal surveyArchaeological field surveyArchaeological field survey is the method by which archaeologists search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human cultures across a large area...
and sampling strategies - process-basedProcess (science)In science, a process is every sequence of changes of a real object/body which is observable using the scientific method. Therefore, all sciences analyze and model processes....
modeling and simulationSimulationSimulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
models - archaeological predictive modeling and heritage management applications
- supervised and unsupervised classification and typology, artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
applications - digital excavations and virtual realityVirtual realityVirtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
- archaeologcial software development, electronic data sharing and publishing
AI science advocates a formalized approach to archaeological inference and knowledge building. It is interdisciplinary in nature, borrowing, adapting and enhancing method and theory from numerous other disciplines such as computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
(e.g. algorithm and software design, database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
design and theory), geoinformation
Geoinformation
Geoinformation is an abbreviation of geographic information. Geographic information is created by manipulating geographic data in a computerized system. Systems can include computers and networks, standards and protocols for data use and exchange between users within a range of different...
science (spatial statistics
Geostatistics
Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petroleum geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, meteorology,...
and modeling, geographic information systems), artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
research (supervised classification, fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
), ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
(point pattern analysis), applied mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
(graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
, probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
) and statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
.
Training and research
Scientific progress in archaeology, as in any other discipline, requires building abstract, generalized and transferable knowledge about the processes that underlie past human actions and their manifestations. QuantificationQuantification
Quantification has several distinct senses. In mathematics and empirical science, it is the act of counting and measuring that maps human sense observations and experiences into members of some set of numbers. Quantification in this sense is fundamental to the scientific method.In logic,...
provides the ultimate known way of abstracting and extending our scientific abilities past the limits of intuitive
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
cognition. Quantitative approaches to archaeological information handling and inference constitute a critical body of scientific methods in archaeological research. They provide the tools, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and computer algorithms, to process information too voluminous or complex for purely cognitive, informal inference
Inference
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
. They also build a bridge between archaeology and numerous quantitative sciences such as geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
, geoinformation
Geoinformation
Geoinformation is an abbreviation of geographic information. Geographic information is created by manipulating geographic data in a computerized system. Systems can include computers and networks, standards and protocols for data use and exchange between users within a range of different...
sciences and applied statistics. And they allow archaeological scientists to design and carry out research in a formal, transparent and comprehensible way.
Being an emerging field of research, AI science is currently a rather dispersed discipline in need of stronger, well-funded and institutionalized embedding, especially in academic teaching. Despite its evident progress and usefulness, today's quantitative archaeology is often inadequately represented in archaeological training and education. Part of this problem may be misconceptions about the seeming conflict between mathematics and humanistic archaeology.
Nevertheless, digital excavation technology, modern heritage management and complex research issues require skilled students and researchers to develop new, efficient and reliable means of processing an ever-growing mass of untackled archaeological data and research problems. Thus, providing students of archaeology with a solid background in quantitative sciences such as mathematics, statistics and computer sciences seems today more important than ever.
Currently, universities based in the UK provide the largest share of study programmes for prospective quantitative archaeologists, with many institutes in Italy developing a strong profile quickly (see links at the bottom). In Germany, the country's first lecturer's position in AI science ("Archäoinformatik") was established in 2005 at the University of Kiel (Benjamin Ducke, now at Oxford Archaeology). This was in 2005. Actually the first and only position of a regular junior professorship for "Archäoinformatik" is established in the field of Classical Archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin. There is now the center for studying "Archäoinformatik" in Germany.
The most important platform for students and researchers in quantitative archaeology and AI science is the international conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) which has been in existence for more than 30 years now and is held in a different city of Europe each year. Vienna's city archaeology unit also hosts an annual event that is quickly growing in international importance (see links at bottom).
Employment opportunities
As a general rule, the archaeological job market has insufficient capacities to offer employment for all of the subject's graduates. Training in AI science will provide students with knowledge and skills related to a number of key qualifications and technologies that are sought for in many sectors of today's job market. In archaeology itself, prospective fields of work include heritage management, archaeological IT consulting and software development, digital excavation management, digital archives and museums, digital publishing (e.g. Internet ArchaeologyInternet Archaeology
is an international scholarly journal and one of the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journals for archaeology. It published its first issue in 1996. The journal was part of the eLIb project's electronic journals...
), and teaching and training quantitative archaeologists.
See also
- Burenhult 2002: Burenhult, G. (ed.): Archaeological Informatics: Pushing The Envelope. CAA2001. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. BAR International Series 1016, Archaeopress, Oxford.
- Huggett and Ross 2004: J. Hugget, S. Ross (eds.): Archaeological Informatics. Beyond Technology. Internet ArchaeologyInternet Archaeologyis an international scholarly journal and one of the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journals for archaeology. It published its first issue in 1996. The journal was part of the eLIb project's electronic journals...
15. http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue15/ - Schlapke 2000: Schlapke, M. Die "Archäoinformatik" am Thüringischen Landesamt für Archäologische Denkmalpflege, Ausgrabungen und Funde im Freistaat Thüringen, 5, 2000, S. 1-5.
- Zemanek 2004: Zemanek, H.: Archaeological Information - An information scientist looks on archaeology. In: Ausserer, K.F., Börner, w., Goriany, M. & Karlhuber-Vöckl, L. (eds) 2004. Enter the Past. The E-way into the four Dimensions of Cultural Heritage. CAA 2003, Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. BAR International Series 1227, Archaeopress, Oxford, 16-26.
- Archeologia e Calcolatori journal homepage
- Archaeological Computing Newsletter homepage, now a supplement to Archeologia e Calcolatori
- Computational archaeology
Studying AI science
- University College London: M.Sc. GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology
- University of York: MSc Archaeological Information Systems
- University of Birmingham: MA/ PG Dip Landscape Archaeology, GIS and Virtual Environments
- University of Southampton: MSc in Archaeological Computing (Spatial Technologies) and MSc in Archaeological Computing (Virtual Pasts)
- Archaeoinformatics at Siena University (Italian page)
- Archaeoinformation science at CAU Kiel (German page, unfortunately out of date!)
- University of the Aegean M.Sc. in Cultural Informatics
Research groups and institutions
- University College London: Material Culture and Data Science Research Group
- University of York: Archaeological Information Systems Research Group
- University of Southampton: Archaeological Computing Research Group
- University of Birmingham: HP Visual and Spatial Technology Centre Archaeological Computing Division
- Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), Center for Cultural Informatics
- Alexandria Archive Institute (AAI)
- Internet and Open Source for Archaeology is a portal dedicated to the collection and creation of resources to help archaeologists eveluate open source alternatives to proprietary software.
- Cultural and Educational Technology Institute is a research institute which constitutes an integrated research environment with continuous interaction with the academic community, in particular with the Democritus University of Thrace, the national and European educational and cultural technology industry, the international scientific community and the public sector.
- Michigan State University Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative is a platform for interdisciplinary scholarly collaboration and communication in the domain of Cultural Heritage Informatics at Michigan State University. In addition, the initiative strives to equip students (both graduate and undergraduate) with the practical and analytical skills necessary creatively to apply information, communication, and computing technologies to cultural heritage materials.
Important conferences
- "Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA")
- "International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies" (formerly: "Workshop Archäologie und Computer") at Vienna