Dr. Scott Madry

Research Associate Professor of Anthropology, UNC-CH

Madrys@email.unc.edu
 
http://www.informatics.org/anthromadry.html
http://www.informatics.org/anth328
 
Email everyone


 

~Main page ~Schedule~Web Resources~Bibliography~

Course Overview

This course is a detailed examination of the state-of-the-art in archaeological spatial analysis. The goal is to provide an introduction; through a combination of literature review, discussion, research, and hands-on exercises, to the practical applications of Geomatics to archaeology and anthropology.

Geomatics is defined as the functional integration of GIS, remote sensing, image processing, aerial photo interpretation, GPS, data base analysis, spatial statistics, visualization and simulation, and related technologies. The course should be relevant for students of archaeology, anthropology, geography, classics, ecology, and other related disciplines. Students from all disciplines and departments are welcome.

We will focus on the origins of the application of these technologies to our disciplines, the current state-of-the-art, and future directions. Weekly readings will be discussed in the first half of each weekly class, with hands-on exercises conducted in the second half.

Topics will include various GIS tools used to conduct settlement pattern analysis, viewshed analysis, cost surface analysis, and archaeological site predictive modeling. We will also be dealing with locating and manipulating appropriate data, including historic maps, rectifying maps, and extracting features from these. Also included will be applications of remote sensing, aerial photo analysis, GPS, and visualization tools.

Class time and location

The course will be held each Wednesday from 3:30 PM-5:45 PM. In general, the first half of the class will be discussion of the weekly readings, to be held in Alumni 404. The second half will be held in Hanes 02, in the basement. This computer room is locked, so you will have to enter the basement from the central door on the north side of Hanes hall, by the Campus Y and Gerrard hall. Hanes 02 room is not available for use outside of class hours, but you can access the online ArcGIS from any connection on campus, including in the libraries.

Where we meet each week will be flexible, as some classes will be in both rooms, or either one, depending on what we are doing that week. Check this page to keep up! The first class meeting will be held in Alumni 404. After a short break we will go to Hanes 02.

Readings and discussion

The course utilizes readings from numerous sources. Each student will take turns leading the discussion for the week. This will be included in your class participation grade (see below). The course readings are available from Wilson library reserve and in the Anthro department student lounge.

We will also use excerpts (handouts) from:

Allen, Green, and Zubrow, eds. (1990) Interpreting space: GIS and archaeology. Taylor and Francis, New York. 398 pp.

Maschner, ed. (1996) New Methods, Old Problems: Geographic information systems in modern archaeological research. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Occasional Paper No. 23. 315 pp.

Lock, ed. (2000) Beyond the Map: Archaeology and Spatial Technologies. IOS Press, Amsterdam, 236 pp.

Westcott and Brandon, eds. (2000) Practical applications of GIS for archaeologists. Taylor and Francis, Philadelphia. 160 pp.

W. J. Judge and L. Sebastian eds. (1988) Quantifying the Present and Predicting the Past: Theory, Method and Application of Archaeological Predictive Modeling. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Denver.

You may wish to purchase some or all of these books (the Judge and Sebastian will  be difficult to find, but it is out there). Several other useful references will be available from my personal collection.

You may also wish to purchase Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop by Tim Ormsby, Eileen Napoleon, Robert Burke, Carolyn Groessl, Laura Feaster and/or Using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst by Jill McCoy, Kevin Johnston.

These books are not at the student stores, and their purchase is not required. Purchase them through bookfinder.com, amazon.com, or ecampus.com (cheaper).

Software, Data and Network Workspace

We will be using the UNC ArcGIS network software for this class, but this class is not an introduction to ArcGIS. Each student is required to have an ONYEN and be able to log on to the campus net to access ArcGIS and data (or use your own copy of ArcGIS and your data).

If you do not have any hands-on experience with ArcGIS, you should probably take one of the free UNC introductory classes that are offered before you take the course. See http://www.unc.edu/atn/asg/research/courses.html and http://www.unc.edu/atn/gis/arcgis/ for more info). Don't worry if you can't do this before class...but it will help you.

There will be several sample datasets available for your use, or you can use your own data for your project. Be aware that time required to get your own data ready to use will not be part of this class, and may be significant. Do not underestimate the time required to create your own data.

Due to the size of GIS datafiles, personal network storage space will be required. There will be named folders for each student. Similarly, lab exercise data will be placed in subfolders of the class website.

Evaluation Course grades will be (approximately) based on:

  • Discussion/class participation 15%
  • Lab Exercises 15%
  • Topic of Interest Summary 5%
  • Preliminary project paragraph & dataset ID 5%
  • Literature review: annotated bibliography 10%
  • Refined research question/methods/hypotheses w/ expanded bibliography 10%
  • Abstract, outline, and pre-presentation 10%
  • Presentation 15%
  • Poster or final research paper 15%

Discussion and general class participation are essential aspects of intellectual endeavors. This class is offered at a graduate level, and you will be expected to bring scholarly interest and abilities. You should keep up with the readings and come to class prepared to answer questions, ask questions, and engage in intellectual inquiry. Attendance and participation are very important.

If you have more than a reasonable number of  unexcused absences, you may damage the participation portion of your grade. Arriving late to class repeatedly disrupts the class, and may reduce the participation portion of your grade. Similarly, assignments turned in late can loose points. A two day extension without penalty can be granted upon prior request. Please use the official class excuse form in all instances!

In general, the first half of most weeks class period will be for readings and discussion. The second half will include the hands-on lab exercises. You will need to spend additional time working on the GIS activities outside of class.

In order to familiarize you with GIS, we will make use of ESRI's Virtual Campus (Learning ArcGIS I (for ArcView 8, ArcEditor 8, and ArcInfo 8). Some of the course modules will be done in class (see course outline) and others will be optional. Although they are optional, you would benefit from doing them outside of class. Optional module components include:

Module II: Lesson - Spatial Data Formats
Module V: Lesson - Getting information from maps

The topic of interest summary is a brief statement of the research you propose to undertake. This should be no longer than a single page or several paragraphs.

The preliminary project paragraph & dataset ID include a one page statement of proposed research outlining the nature of the dataset you propose to use. Special attention should be taken to insure that the research question is appropriate for the available data set and time available.

The literature review will include a minimum of ten annotated bibliographical references: For example, five references could deal with the particular research area (e.g., Southwest US, Iron Age France, NC Piedmont, etc.). Five references could deal with appropriate theoretical issues for your selected research question.

The refined research question/methods/hypotheses is a one page summary of the relationships among your research question, testable hypotheses, and methods. At this time you will also submit an expanded bibliography that should include the majority of the references you will be using.

The abstract is a brief summary (<200 words) of your entire project including theory, methods, data, and results.

The class presentation will be less than 30 minutes in length and use Powerpoint or another appropriate computer presentation package. The presentation should address your entire research project, but be oriented toward communicating your research results clearly and efficiently, and within the time allowed, as if it were a professional paper given at a conference. You should be prepared to answer questions. I will be available to informally review your presentation materials with you before your presentation.

The final project consists of either a poster that is of conference quality or a research paper of +- 8 to 10 pages.

The course will make use of this website, so please check it often. I will create a class email list, so we can communicate by email throughout the class. Feel free to contact me by email at any time.

That's all! It will be fun, we will all learn together, and gain new skills and insights about the relationships between humans, their cultures, and their environments. We will also learn about the ways we can (and should not) investigate these topics using Geomatics technologies. Come and join us!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions...but when in doubt, take the class!

~Main page ~Schedule~Web Resources~Bibliography~