Module overview
This module aims to acquaint you with Geographic Information Systems including their use for mapping and analysing archaeological sites and landscapes, and to explain the broader context of their application to a range of archaeological research and management problems. You will gain practical experience of how to design, implement and document spatial databases for archaeology. You will also be introduced to the acquisition and processing of spatial data from both traditional (maps and surveys) sources and also from new sources including remote-sensing, LiDAR and differential GPS.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- How Archaeology has used GIS in the past.
- How the use of GIS has contributed to theoretical and methodological developments of landscape archaeology.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Grasp the archaeological implications of new sources of spatial data, such as LiDAR and GPS.
- You will be able to represent, map and analyse archaeological data with GIS.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Critically evaluate archaeological knowledge claims based on GIS analysis.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- You will be able to work with Geographic Information Systems in many disciplines.
- You will develop skills that will enable you to solve problems by referring to documentation and online sources.
- You will be able to design and implement spatial databases using industry-standard GIS software, and will have a sound grasp of the principles of a range of spatial technologies.
Syllabus
Typically the syllabus will cover the following topics:
- Introduction to GIS
- Understanding and making maps
- Spatial databases and metadata
- Elevation models and their products
- Remote sensing and aerial survey (LiDAR etc.)
- Sites, territories and distance
- GPS survey data and geodetics
- Visibility and intervisibility
- Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) and GIS
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will be a combination of:
- Lectures on the theory and practice of spatial technology, and on the ways in which these have been applied to archaeological research and management;
- Practical classes in which you will be encouraged to develop practical ability to design and implement spatial databases, and to analyse archaeological spatial information.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Follow-up work | 10 |
| Lecture | 24 |
| Practical classes and workshops | 24 |
| Completion of assessment task | 82 |
| Wider reading or practice | 10 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Maschner, H.D.G (1996). New methods, old problems: geographical information systems in modern archaeological research. Carbondale: Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Lock, G.R. and Molyneaux B.L (2006). Confronting scale in archaeology. New York: Springer.
Allen, K.M.S., Green, S. and Zubrow, E.B.W (1990). Interpreting space: GIS and archaeology, Applications of Geographic Information Systems. London: Taylor & Francis.
Lock G.R (2000). Beyond the map: archaeology and spatial technologies. Amsterdam: IOS Press.
Conolly J and Lake M (2006). Geographic Information Systems in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bodenhamer DJ, Corrigan J and Harris TM (2010). The spatial humanities: GIS and the future of humanities scholarship.. Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press.
Lock, G.R. and Stancic, Z (1995). Archaeology and geographical information systems: a European perspective. London: Taylor & Francis.
Chapman H (2006). Landscape Archaeology and GIS. Oxford: Tempus.
Westcott, K.L. and Brandon, R.J. (2000). Practical applications of GIS for archaeologists: a predictive modelling kit. London: Taylor & Francis.
Aldenderfer, M. and Maschner, H.D.G (1996). Anthropology, space and geographic information systems, Spatial information series. New York: Oxford University Press.
Burrough, P. A. and R. A. McDonnell (1998). Principles of geographic information systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wheatley D & Gillings M (2002). Spatial technology and archaeology. London: Taylor & Francis.
DeMers, M. N (1997). Fundamentals of geographic information systems. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Practical exercise
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback: Verbal feedback in the practical and the following week.
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Digital project | 65% |
| GIS Map Package | 35% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Coursework | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Coursework | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External