GISProgramming: Participation Assignment 1 -- GIS In the News

      I have mentioned before that our courses provide us the opportunity to engage in discussion (and help one another with assignments) with fellow classmates through a discussion board. This is an important resource as this is an online certification program and we do not get to interact in person (though we do have a nifty program that lets us video chat with each other). This participation assignment had us seeking out instances of GIS in the news by way of scientific journals, blogs, or news outlets. I have increasingly noticed news outlets, like NPR, NYTimes, Huffington Post, use maps or refer to maps in their reporting. Often, these maps are compiled using GIS software and possibly even using Python to speed along their analyses.
     To complete this assignment I looked up recent scientific articles that used GIS in an anthropological framework. As an anthropologist, I wanted to see how GIS is being used in this discipline. Additionally, I chose to examine the application of GIS in an archaeological setting as I am currently pursuing a career in archaeology.
     The particular article I chose recognized the utility of spatial analysis within a GIS and its powerful capacity for discerning archaeological patterns. This study uses GIS to analyze the spatial distribution of remains (human/faunal), artifacts, and the presence of ochre in a cave used by Paleolithic peoples in present day Cantabria, Spain. A combination of QGIS and ArcGIS 10 were used to georeference excavation photos, create a 3-D polygon surface of ochre distribution (by way of the Triangulated Irregular Network tool), and reconstruct human body positions with XY-coordinates and vector data.

     The article includes figures that highlight the results of the various spatial analyses performed. These analyses helped characterize the site and preparation of the area for internment. Taphonomic analyses in conjunction with spatial analyses of the burial at this site resulted in its classification as a disturbed primary burial. The authors of this study propose using spatial analyses as an analytical means for studying Paleolithic burial activities. This multidisciplinary approach, merging geographic science and an anthropological/archaeological framework, is exactly what I want to adopt in future endeavors. 

     As an aside, I recently attended a workshop on non-destructive survey methods in archaeology (through the National Parks Service). The workshop exposed me to ground penetrating radar, magnetometry, and other geophysical survey techniques and how these can be integrated within a GIS to understand a site. It blew me away. I cannot wait to apply all of the skills I am learning through this certificate, especially Python, in a career in archaeology/anthropology. 

Citation

Geiling, J.M., Marín-Arroyo, A.B., Spatial distribution analysis of the Lower Magdalenian human burial in El Miron Cave (Cantabria, Spain), Journal of Archaeological Science (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.03.005