Ethics in Archaeological GIS -- Archaeological Sites in Jordan

     This week we discussed ethics in archaeology (see the section below for a brief discussion), the importance of data security, and site conservation. As looting is a significant problem in the archaeological world it is vital that steps are taken to ensure the preservation and conservation of our collective history. Certain institutions, like the Getty Conservation Institute, have created web-based systems for assessing the condition and maintenance of archaeological sites. MEGAJordan (Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities) is one such site and it uses GIS to manage and inventory archaeological sites in Jordan. There is an introductory video along with several other tutorials that discuss how to navigate and utilize the site. (It is pretty nifty. I imagine there will be similar GIS systems available for every country eventually.)
     For this week's assignment we were given a list of archaeological locations in a spreadsheet. The MEGAJordan search function was used to gather coordinates to populate the spreadsheet. This data was then imported into ArcGIS as a feature class in a file geodatabase. The map below displays these locations. I also included a screen capture of a search for the site of Petra. It shows the user interface and some of the features of the MEGA Jordan GIS.

Map deliverable showing
archaeological sites in Jordan.

A screenshot showing the UI for the MEGA Jordan site. 

     To facilitate the discussion of ethics in archaeology we read two articles. One written by Brian Fagan - "The Arrogant Archaeologist" - and another that summarized the necessity for and the development of principles in archaeology (SAA link below). In short, the need for public outreach and education concerning the treatment of not only artifacts but also place is as important now as it ever was. Thanks to social media I am able to follow several archaeological outreach programs (such as the Florida Public Archaeology Network). I try to share as many events as I can.

Some Professional Codes and Standards

• Society for American Archaeology
• Society for Historical Archaeology (navigate to the bottom of the page for links and information on other professional society statements and blogs)
• Register of Professional Archaeologists

Clips and Queries - The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

     This assignment demonstrates how GIS is used to query historic data, analyze that data, and create a final map product. We examined The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 through historic landmark and ward data.
     I queried a landmark dataset for Chicago to find buildings built before the Great Fire (prior to 1871). When overlaid with the area affected by the fire, the results show there were no surviving landmarks. The same dataset was then queried to find buildings constructed after the fire (between 1871 and 1890). Many of the resulting buildings were built in the affected fire zone. Great effort was put in to rebuilding and recovering after the fire. The results of these queries are displayed on the final map. Buildings built prior to the fire are labeled in the inset map and the legend. The origin of the fire, wards affected by the fire, and ward boundaries for the years before and after the fire are also shown.

     This map was entirely made using ArcGIS. To query the data I used the Select by Attribute tool and the Select by Location tool. The results were summarized in a table using the Summarize function accessed through an attribute table. In addition, I used the Clip tool to finalize the data for display.
   
Map Design
     For the Intro to Cartography course we critiqued our final map design. This is not a necessary part of this assignment but I wanted to review my final map. We were required to label the buildings built prior to 1871. Initially I designed a portrait oriented map with labels and all the required data displayed. I could not, however find a way to male the map look less cluttered. My solution was to make an inset map that highlights the 1871 wards of Chicago along with the fire origin point, area of the fire, and buildings built after the fire. The latter is included to show how much growth and rebuilding occurred within the area of the fire (these are particularly hard to differentiate on the main map). The buildings are also labeled using unique colors and summarized in the legend.
     I tried to choose a color scheme that is easy to interpret but looked slightly antiqued. I had issues exporting my map into a format that CorelDraw would open. I was going to edit the map further in CorelDraw but am pleased with the results regardless. I hope that you find the map user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. 

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 - The final map deliverable displaying
wards in the city of Chicago before and after the fire, the fire impact area,
and landmarks built before and after the fire.  

     Contextualizing archaeological data in a GIS allows for the examination of spatial patterns (or lack thereof) and trends in the past. This course is going to teach me skills that merge my anthropological and geological interests. I am incredibly excited to apply my GIS skills to the analysis of archaeological data.