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| Curation | Staff
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| Alabama State Site File
GIS in Archaeology | UA
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History of Program | Contracts/Grants
| Curation | Staff
| Publications | Mission
| Alabama State Site File |
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GIS in ArchaeologyGeographic Information Systems (GIS) software provides archaeologists with a powerful set of tools for management, analysis and research of cultural resources. The power of GIS lies in the ability to link objects on a map to a database, combining the graphical display of data with database query and analysis functionality. Similar objects are grouped into layers, which can be turned on or off for mapping. The map below has several different layers, with the Alabama State Site File layer on top, then roads, major bodies of water (turned off) and a series of digital topographic maps as a base layer. Using GIS software, we can pan and zoom across the state to a particular area of interest, and identify features on the various map layers. The identify results window displays the attributes for site 1Ca5 stored in the Site File database. |
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Once a GIS layer is built, the spatial relationships between mapped features can be analyzed for patterns not readily apparent if the underlying data were viewed in tabular format. Archaeologists can analyze geographic data within a single layer, such as the site distribution maps below, or the relationship between multiple layers to examine how environmental variables like topography, soil type, or distance to water affect site location. Geographic analysis can be conducted at most any scale, from site specific (including three dimensional data) to regional or statewide as with the Alabama State Site File. |
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Archaeological field data collected with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers can be directly integrated into GIS, increasing the degree of accuracy when recording archaeological sites and other cultural features. All the features on the map below were recorded using GPS receivers during an archaeological survey performed by the Office of Archaeological Services. |
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The Office of Archaeological Research uses ESRI's suite of GIS software products for cultural resource surveys and managing the Alabama State Site File. To learn more about GIS, visit ESRI's GIS.com. To explore how other archaeologists are using GIS to manage and analyze cultural resources, visit ESRI's Archaeology Interest Group by clicking here. To learn more about how the Office of Archaeological Research uses GIS in archaeology, e-mail Sam Mizelle. |
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