Surface Interpolation Techniques - Examining Patterns In Archaeological Data

     This week our lab introduced surface interpolation and kernel densities as a means of examining, analyzing, and interpreting patterns in archaeological data. We used shovel test data and (insert PArt 2 data description) data to practice the application of these techniques. The tools used are all part of the Spatial Analyst extension. I used the kernel density, IDW (Inverse Distance Weighted), kriging, spline, and natural neighbor interpolation tools to see how they each visualize the same dataset. Below is a poster that shows these methods applied to two datasets mentioned above. In addition, here is a helpful link for a discussion of the interpolation tools I noted and that are offered in the Spatial Analyst extension.

A 'poster' showing the various interpolation methods used to examine two sets of data.