What is ‘Computational Archaeology?’

URL: https://isaacullah.github.io/What-is-Computational-Archaeology

This post was inspired from the seminar discussions in my GIS and Imagery Analysis course over the past two years, as well as a “special topics” course on the subject of “Computational Archaeology.”

From Article:I have noticed a few trends in the way “Computational Archaeology” is defined:

1. The use of digital data in archaeological research.
2. The general use of computers in archaeological research.
3. The use of computational algorithms to fill gaps in archaeological data in ways that can’t be done with traditional techniques.
4. Data mining and multidimensional analyses of archaeological data.
5. The use of simulation models and artificial intelligence to understand the processes and dynamics of past societies.
6. The use of computer visualizations to create immersive virtual experiences of archaeological sites and materials

Various definitions will emphasize some of those subjects more than others, however, and may even ignore the rest of the list. All definitions emphasize the use of computers, but do so in different ways. I have noticed the following emphases on computer-based tools in various definitions of “Computational Archaeology”:

1. GIS and geospatial data analysis.
2. Digital imagery and photogrammetry.
3. Statistical computing and quantitative analysis.
4. Data visualization.
5. Agent Based Modeling and simulation.
6. 3D modeling, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
7. Video gaming and digital animation.
...
I break this down further into two general types of computation:
First, there are analytical computations, which calculate a mathematical solution from input data. This is the realm of “scientific computing,” using software such as R or Scientific Python, as well as GIS analysis with advanced tools like GRASS. Multidimensional statistics, clustering, data-mining, predictive modeling, cross-correlation, geospatial analytics, imagery analysis, etc. are all analyses that I would put in this subcategory of Computational Archaeology. They are generally quantitative, often heuristic, and sometimes algorithmic approaches to explaining or finding patterns in data. This might be seen as the inductive approach to computational archaeology.

Second, are generative computations, which compute novelty from a set of initial conditions. This is the realm of “simulation,” using modeling software like NetLogo or RePast. Here, the calculations being performed by the computer are generating non-linear behavior in highly algorithmic systems of interacting software agents. “Agent-Based Modeling,” “genetic algorithms,” “cellular automata,” “stock and flow models,” “dynamic equilibrium models,” etc., are all within this subcategory. The point here is to be inspired by archaeological and anthropological theory and data to create dynamic, processual simulation models that produce observable behavior from first principles. This might be seen as the deductive approach to computational archaeology.
...
So here’s how I break it all down:

Things that you need computers for in archaeology:
Digital Archaeology |||| Computational Archaeology
Digital data collection |||| Quantitative data analysis
Data storage |||| Pattern recognition
Data manipulation |||| Predictive modeling
Data visualization |||| Simulation modeling
...

Tags: computational archaeology digital archaeology teaching theory
 Updated: May 9, 2018

image1: A computer hard at work on something archaeological. Is this all there is to "Computational Archaeology?"

image2: A Fortran punch card from the 1960's shows how just how "new and innovative" computation is. (By Arnold Reinhold CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)