Geospatial analysis as experimental archaeology

Physical sedimentary controls on subtropical coastal and shelf sedimentary systems: Initial application in conceptual models and computer visualizations to support archaeology

“…More and better evidence is needed to help establish whether these or any other archaeological observations are typical or atypical of the region and to help test conceptual patterns of human use and dispersal. As noted above, and emphasized by Whitley (, p. 11), computer simulations used with appropriate physical processes can help devise geospatial experiments, which can help generate hypotheses to test using fieldwork. Together, these can clarify our understanding of such issues.…”

“…As presented in Whitley (, p. 6), a high‐resolution bathymetric model provides some predictions for the multidirectional movements of sediment and of the coastal zone from the time of earliest human colonization through until today. We use this experimental application of “Terragen” to develop, visualize, and emphasize some of the possible physical factors and their changes through time that need to be considered when designing archaeological prospection in the offshore zone and also when interpreting archaeological data collected offshore, on the emergent islands and from the adjacent mainland.…”

“…Therefore, it is not an “artistic interpretation” but a computer‐generated image based on specified parameters and rules. A summary of the main inputs into the visualizations of the NW Shelf around Barrow Island is given in Table , detailed in Whitley, Berry, and Clayton Martinez () and Whitley (), and a simplified flow chart of the process is given in Figure . Generating the visualizations involved converting both quantitative and qualitative data from various sources into models of how changing climatic parameters play out across bathymetry and topography to influence sea levels and vegetation patterns over time.…”

“…Pink area on (a) indicates the extent of the modern islands for reference. (Note that these captions are a correction to Whitley, ) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

“…We contend that this conclusion also applies to other coastlines of the world, where archaeological evidence also implies major changes in coastal environments and resource use (e.g., d'Alpoim Guedes et al., ; Gilbertson et al., ; Williams et al., 2018). Ultimately, however, such visualizations are still subjective and should not be taken to be any more inherently accurate than any other archaeological ideas, no matter how much detail or quantification they might contain (Whitley, , p. 11).…”