D6.6: 7 conference papers

The Deliverable 6.6 with the title “7 conference papers”, is part of WP6 “Dissemination and Exploitation” of Athena project with a basic aim to knowledge sharing, network development and exposure to an international environment. Three conference attendances were foreseen (e.g. CAA; SPIE; EARSeL) within the project duration whereas more than 30 posters and oral presentations were presented during the project in the conferences such as: SPIE 2016, SPIE 2018, EUROMED 2016, EUROMED 2018, EGU 2016, EGU 2017, EGU 2018, RSCy2016, RSCy 2017, RSCy 2018, etc

Remote Sensing and Geosciences for Archaeology

This book collects more than 20 papers, written by renowned experts and scientists from across the globe, that showcase the state-of-the-art and forefront research in archaeological remote sensing and the use of geoscientific techniques to investigate archaeological records and cultural heritage. Very high resolution satellite images from optical and radar space-borne sensors, airborne multi-spectral images, ground penetrating radar, terrestrial laser scanning, 3D modelling, Geographyc Information Systems (GIS) are among the techniques used in the archaeological studies published in this book. The reader can learn how to use these instruments and sensors, also in combination, to investigate cultural landscapes, discover new sites, reconstruct paleo-landscapes, augment the knowledge of monuments, and assess the condition of heritage at risk. Case studies scattered across Europe, Asia and America are presented: from the World UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa to heritage under threat in the Middle East and North Africa, from coastal heritage in the intertidal flats of the German North Sea to Early and Neolithic settlements in Thessaly. Beginners will learn robust research methodologies and take inspiration; mature scholars will for sure derive inputs for new research and applications

A Change Is Going to Come: A Complex Systems Approach to the Emergence of Social Complexity on Cyprus

abstract: This dissertation explores how practices and interactions of actors at different scales structure social networks and lead to the emergence of social complexity in middle range societies. To investigate this process, I apply a complex adaptive systems approach and a methodology that combines network science with analytical tools from economics to the three sub-periods of the Prehistoric Bronze Age (The Philia Phase, PreBA 1 and PreBA 2) on Cyprus, a transformational period marked by social and economic changes evident in the material record. Using proxy data representative of three kinds of social interactions or facets of social complexity, the control of labor, participation in trade networks, and access to resources, at three scales, the community, region and whole island, my analysis demonstrates the variability in and non-linear trajectory for the emergence of social complexity in middle range society. The results of this research indicate that complexity emerges at different scales, and times in different places, and only in some facets of complexity. Cycles of emergence are apparent within the sub-periods of the PreBA, but a linear trajectory of increasing social complexity is not evident through the period. Further, this research challenges the long-held notion that Cyprus' involvement in the international metal trade lead to the emergence of complexity. Instead, I argue based on the results presented here, that the emergence of complexity is heavily influenced by endogenous processes, particularly the social interactions that limited participation in an on-island exchange system that flourished on the island during the Philia Phase, disintegrated along the North Coast during the PreBA 1 and was rebuilt across the island by the end of the period. Thus, the variation seen in the emergence of social complexity on Cyprus during the PreBA occurred as the result of a bottom-up process in which the complex and unequal interactions and relationships between social actors structured and restructured social networks across scales differently over time and space. These results speak more broadly about the variability of middle range societies and the varying conditions under which social complexity can emerge and add to our understanding of this phenomenon.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Anthropology 201

Site Selection Using Geo-Social Media: A Study For Eateries In Lisbon

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesThe rise in the influx of multicultural societies, studentification, and overall population growth has positively impacted the local economy of eateries in Lisbon, Portugal. However, this has also increased retail competition, especially in tourism. The overall increase in multicultural societies has also led to an increase in multiple smaller hotspots of human-urban attraction, making the concept of just one downtown in the city a little vague. These transformations of urban cities pose a big challenge for upcoming retail and eateries store owners in finding the most optimal location to set up their shops. An optimal site selection strategy should recommend new locations that can maximize the revenues of a business. Unfortunately, with dynamically changing human-urban interactions, traditional methods like relying on census data or surveys to understand neighborhoods and their impact on businesses are no more reliable or scalable. This study aims to address this gap by using geo-social data extracted from social media platforms like Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, and Google Maps, which then acts as a proxy to the real population. Seven variables are engineered at a neighborhood level using this data: business interest, age, gender, spatial competition, spatial proximity to stores, homogeneous neighborhoods, and percentage of the native population. A Random Forest based binary classification method is then used to predict whether a Point of Interest (POI) can be a part of any neighborhood n. The results show that using only these 7 variables, an F1-Score of 83% can be achieved in classifying whether a neighborhood is good for an “eateries” POI. The methodology used in this research is made to work with open data and be generic and reproducible to any city worldwide

50 Years World Heritage Convention: Shared Responsibility – Conflict & Reconciliation

This open access book identifies various forms of heritage destruction and analyses their causes. It proposes strategies for avoiding and solving conflicts, based on integrating heritage into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It reflects on the identity-building role of heritage, on multidimensional conflicts and the destruction of heritage, and considers conflict-solving strategies and future perspectives. Furthermore, it engages theoretically and practically with the concepts of responsibility, reconciliation and sustainability, relating mainly to four Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. SDGs 4 (education), 11 (e.g. World Heritage), 13 (climate action) and 17 (partnerships for the goals). More than 160 countries have inscribed properties on the UNESCO World Heritage list since the World Heritage Convention came into force. Improvements in the implementation of the Convention, such as the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List, have occurred, but other conflicts have not been solved. The book advocates for a balanced distribution of properties and more effective strategies to represent the global diversity of cultural and natural heritage. Furthermore it highlights the importance of heritage in identity building

Methods and Measures for Analyzing Complex Street Networks and Urban Form

Complex systems have been widely studied by social and natural scientists in terms of their dynamics and their structure. Scholars of cities and urban planning have incorporated complexity theories from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. From a structural standpoint, the urban form may be characterized by the morphological complexity of its circulation networks - particularly their density, resilience, centrality, and connectedness. This dissertation unpacks theories of nonlinearity and complex systems, then develops a framework for assessing the complexity of urban form and street networks. It introduces a new tool, OSMnx, to collect street network and other urban form data for anywhere in the world, then analyze and visualize them. Finally, it presents a large empirical study of 27,000 street networks, examining their metric and topological complexity relevant to urban design, transportation research, and the human experience of the built environment.Comment: PhD thesis (2017), City and Regional Planning, UC Berkele

Millet and What Else?

Broomcorn/common/proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) is a cereal crop that originated in East Asia and was transferred westward to Europe, where it was introduced in the mid-2nd millennium BCE, at the height of the Bronze Age. Archaeobotanists from the Collaborative Research Centre 1266, supported by many colleagues, conducted a large-scale programme of radiocarbon dating of millet grains from prehistoric Europe. They discovered that the spread of this crop on the continent happened quickly, extending far and wide. What do we know about the (pre)history of this crop in Europe? The workshop organised by the CRC 1266 at Kiel University in 2019 encouraged the discussion on the circumstances and consequences of early broomcorn millet cultivation in Europe. This book brings together many of the workshop papers and reflects the diverse topics and research areas covered. The contributions inform us on the range of cultivated and collected plants from the time before and after the start of millet cultivation in Europe; present the cultural setting in which millet arrived; discuss possible reasons driving the acceptance of this innovation; and reconstruct possible uses of millet and the methods of its cultivation, processing and storage. Not just the plant economy, but also the animal economy is represented, since millet was and is grown for both humans and animals. Techniques used to trace millet archaeologically are continually being developed or improved, and this book describes the application of a few of them. This broad-based compilation of papers adds another layer to the dynamic picture of the Bronze Age and the interconnected continent. It also illustrates the complexity of the research on the diffusion of agricultural innovations