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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Simpson, Terrance Lane. 1996. Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Apalachicola River Valley: A GIS (Geographic Information System) Approach.
Abstract: A geographic
infonnation system (GIS) project was done to investigate the usefulness
of a GIS to archaeology in general, and in particular to bring some
order to data on prehistoric archaeological site locations and identities
and settlement patterns in the Apalachicola Valley in northwest FlDrida.
The initial work was to design the GIS and integrate hardware, software,
and different kinds of data obtained from various sources and in diverse
forms into one workable system. To begin the project, a GIS base map
coverage was constructed using the surface hydrology of the Apalachicola
Valley. An electronic data file of the hydrology of the region was obtained
from the Northwest Florida Water Management District and imported into
ARC/INFO. I. Archaeological site data were imposed onto the base map
for interpretation of human settlement systems in the past. Preliminary
analysis indicates that a GIS can be useful, but is very . time-consuming
and labor-intensive to build. Once bunt, however, it is -relatively easy
to up-date with new site data and new coverages, such as elevation, soil,
and aspect, to complement the hydrology data. The site locations shown
on the GIS maps, by cultural affinity, lead to a comparative visual in
terpretation of changing settlement patterns through time: the Paleo-Indian
settlements are in the karstic Marianna Lowlands in the north part of
the region; during the Archaic stage sites are found in all parts of
the region; and the various peoples of the Woodland and Mississippian
stages moved around in the valley, but generally stayed near the main
river channels. The period after European contact shows a swift decline
in the number of sites, but the reason for .this is not obvious from
the GIS mapping. A GIS is only one tool to aid in the interpreting of
human behavior in the past, but it has the advantage of giving a visual
dimension to the interpretation. These general interpretations must be
taken with the knowledge that the data being used are both skewed and
incomplete; that is, many of the sites have been located bya non-rtgorous,
less than comprehensive, survey of the project area. There are many
areas that have not yet been surveyed, and those areas may contain site
data that will change the interpretations.
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