Multiple pathways across past landscapes: circuit theory as a complementary geospatial method to least cost path for modeling past movement

Howey, Meghan

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.024

Cited by 102 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…For more than a decade, the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in archaeology has enabled increasingly sophisticated means of modeling human movement at various geographic scales (e.g., Bellavia, 2006;Fabrega-Alvarez, 2006;Harris, 2000;Howey, 2011;Whitley and Hicks, 2003;White and Surface-Evans, 2012). Leveraging digital data on elevation and sometimes land cover (Howey, 2007), GIS-centric movement studies in archaeology have been used primarily to create models that mathematically predict where movement was likely to have been channeled on a specific piece of terrain based on preconditions defined by the investigator (e.g., Harris, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leveraging digital data on elevation and sometimes land cover (Howey, 2007), GIS-centric movement studies in archaeology have been used primarily to create models that mathematically predict where movement was likely to have been channeled on a specific piece of terrain based on preconditions defined by the investigator (e.g., Harris, 2000). The basic methodology for most GIS movement studies draws on functions available within commercial and open source GIS software packages that are now well established within archaeology (Howey, 2011;Collischonn and Pilar, 2000;Llobera et al, 2011). First, a cost surface (also referred to as a cost-of-passage map or friction surface) is generated that numerically expresses the difficulty of moving between individual cells in a raster grid given a specific mode of transportation (Collischonn and Pilar, 2000:397;Llobera et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geospatial modeling of pedestrian transportation networks: a case study from precolumbian Oaxaca, Mexico

White

Barber

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geospatial modeling of pedestrian transportation networks: a case study from precolumbian Oaxaca, Mexico

White

Barber

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…In most cases, these friction surfaces are mainly based on the slope of the terrain. However, slope generally has not been the single decisive factor in past movement through the landscape (Howey, 2011). Alternatively, optimal-path calculations are used to better understand the formative principles of routes and paths and to compare these to historically documented routes (Posluschny and Herzog, 2011;Doneus, 2013).…”

Section: Route Network and Gis Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, optimal-path calculations are used to better understand the formative principles of routes and paths and to compare these to historically documented routes (Posluschny and Herzog, 2011;Doneus, 2013). Other less-frequently applied route-network modelling techniques include circuit modelling (Howey, 2011) and From Everywhere To Everywhere (FETE) (White and Barber, 2012). Often these route-network modelling techniques Contemporary rivers are visible in blue.…”

Section: Route Network and Gis Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding Vanished Routes: Applying a Multi-modelling Approach on Lost Route and Path Networks in the Veluwe Region, the Netherlands

Vletter

Lanen

2018

RUR LANDSC

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Route networks are influenced by cultural and environmental dynamics. Consequently, route networks themselves often are dynamic as well. This is especially true in lowland areas, such as the Netherlands, where environmental processes (e.g. geomorphological changes, floods) probably reshaped these networks numerous times. Many of the existing route networks in the Netherlands were established relatively recently, and little is known of their historical predecessors. Recent developments in spatial modelling may improve locating and analysing these old, vanished routes.In this study we have applied two recently-developed applications for historical-route network modelling to the Veluwe (the Netherlands) in order to reconstruct the route network in the region around AD 1500. This region is not densely cultivated and is known to have a long history of routes and paths running through the landscape. The first method, network friction, uses high-resolution geoscientific and cultural data to calculate potential movement corridors and probable route zones. The second method uses a more traditional least-cost path (LCP) model based on surface, groundwater level and slope. The usefulness of these approaches for reconstructing past route networks and the general added value of these approaches was assessed by comparing the reconstructions to the few existing spatial overviews of historical-route networks in this region and hollow ways extracted from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data.Our findings show that the results of the first method, network-friction modelling, correspond best with the comparison data regarding known routes in the study area. However, the general results point towards the necessity of integrating the two applied methods, since a combination of these models best reflects the multiscale variability within regional route networks.

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“…LCP and circuit analyses are both run on the same input surfaces and are greatly influenced by the selection and weighting of input criteria; however, they process this data with different spatial transformations. Comparing concordances or discordances between the outputs of the two analyses can help to verify that a model such as HGLUM behaves as it was designed (Howey, 2011).…”

Section: Additional Strategies: Implementing Multiple Spatial Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Utility of Model Calibration and Verification as a Means of Testing Archaeological Computational Models

Burg

2016

Multi-, Inter- And Transdisciplinary Research in Landscape Archaeology

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The increasing sophistication and complexity of archaeological models has precluded easy testing of such models, and oftentimes requires assessments that can be as lengthy and complicated as the initial model design and execution. Here, a multi-criteria decisionbased model developed to simulate huntergatherer land use decisions in the Post-Glacial Netherlands is discussed. To approximate when and where uncertainty occurs, a sensitivity analysis is implemented that involves varying input parameter weights to determine those parameters with the greatest potential impact on model output. This process incorporates linked combinations of statistical and qualitative tests that are unique to each stage of the modeling. While the sensitivity analysis described allows modellers to become better acquainted with both their models and data -and the inherent limitations that lie therein -the utility of such a heuristic exercise is debatable. Thus, another approach is proposed that involves running two spatial analyses that target the same question of human land use decision-making from different directions and harnessing different data. This procedure has the ability to provide archaeological modellers with a better approximation of the robustness of each spatial analysis, especially when the two analyses converge upon similar answers. When the spatial analyses do not produce similarly patterned results, we know it is time to go "back to the drawing board" and reassess the meta-issue of whether the questions we are asking can be answered via our modeling abstractions. These issues are of no small import because if archaeological models are to resonate with researchers conducting similar simulative and decision-based models in other fields, then we must implement comparable post-process tests in our models too.

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Multiple pathways across past landscapes: circuit theory as a complementary geospatial method to least cost path for modeling past movement

Cited by 102 publications

References 44 publications

Geospatial modeling of pedestrian transportation networks: a case study from precolumbian Oaxaca, Mexico

Geospatial modeling of pedestrian transportation networks: a case study from precolumbian Oaxaca, Mexico

Finding Vanished Routes: Applying a Multi-modelling Approach on Lost Route and Path Networks in the Veluwe Region, the Netherlands

Examining the Utility of Model Calibration and Verification as a Means of Testing Archaeological Computational Models

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