Combinatorial Structure of the Deterministic Seriation Method with Multiple Subset Solutions

Seriation methods order a set of descriptions given some criterion (e.g., unimodality or minimum distance between similarity scores). Seriation is thus inherently a problem of finding the optimal solution among a set of permutations of objects. In this short technical note, we review the combinatorial structure of the classical seriation problem, which seeks a single solution out of a set of objects. We then extend those results to the iterative frequency seriation approach introduced by Lipo (1997), which finds optimal subsets of objects which each satisfy the unimodality criterion within each subset. The number of possible solutions across multiple solution subsets is larger than $n!$, which underscores the need to find new algorithms and heuristics to assist in the deterministic frequency seriation problem.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Book Review of \u27Evolutionary and Interpretive Archaeologies\u27 Edited by Ethan E. Cochrane and Andrew Gardner

Evolutionary and Interpretive Archaeologies, edited by Ethan E. Cochrane andAndrew Gardner, grew out of a seminar at the Institute for Archaeology atUniversity College London in 2007. It consists of 15 chapters by archaeologistswho self-identify themselves as practitioners who emphasize the benefits ofevolutionary or interpretive approaches to the study of the archaeologicalrecord. While the authors\u27 theoretical views are dichotomous, the editors\u27 aimfor the book as a whole is not to expound on the differences between these twokinds of archaeology but to bring forward a richer understanding of thediscipline and to highlight areas of mutual concern. Some chapters come acrossas a bit of a sales pitch, but the majority of the contributions emphasize howeach approach can be productively used to address the goals of the other. Thebook seeks to contribute to a mutually beneficial and more productivediscipline, and overall, it succeeds in this effort

Resource Scarcity and Monumental Architecture: Cost Signaling on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile

Costly signaling theory (CST) explains a variety of elaborate behavioral displays as a consequence of competition over resources when the risk of direct conflict is high. Within an archaeological context, monumental architecture is potentially explained as a facet of costly signaling between individuals and groups. On Rapa Nui, CST offers an explanation for the construction of labor-intensive monuments including massive statues (moai) and ceremonial platforms (ahu). Using hypotheses derived from CST and spatial data about the distribution of archaeological features, the degree to which CST accounts for the investment in prehistoric monumental architecture on Rapu Nui is evaluated.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters/1005/thumbnail.jp

Measuring Cultural Relatedness Using Multiple Seriation Ordering Algorithms

Seriation is a long-standing archaeological method for relative dating that has proven effective in probing regional-scale patterns of inheritance, social networks , and cultural contact in their full spatiotemporal context. The orderings produced by seriation are produced by the continuity of class distributions and uni-modality of class frequencies, properties that are related to social learning and transmission models studied by evolutionary archaeologists. Linking seriation to social learning and transmission enables one to consider ordering principles beyond the classic unimodal curve. Unimodality is a highly visible property that can be used to probe and measure the relationships between assemblages, and it was especially useful when seriation was accomplished with simple algorithms and manual effort. With modern algorithms and computing power, multiple ordering principles can be employed to better understand the spatiotemporal relations between assemblages. Ultimately, the expansion of seriation to additional ordering algorithms allows us an ability to more thoroughly explore underlying models of cultural contact, social networks, and modes of social learning. In this paper, we review our progress to date in extending seriation to multiple ordering algorithms, with examples from Eastern North America and Oceania

Tools for Transparency and Replicability of Simulation in Archaeology

Session: Open methods in archaeology: how to encourage reproducible research as the default practic

The Human Transformation of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Pacific Ocean)

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has become widely known as a case study of human-induced environmental catastrophe resulting in cultural collapse. The island\u27s alleged ecocide is offered as a cautionary tale of our own environmental recklessness. The actual archaeological and historical record for the island reveals that while biodiversity loss unfolded, the ancient Polynesians persisted and succeeded. Demographic collapse came with epidemics of Old World diseases introduced by European visitors. In this paper, we outline the process of prehistoric landscape transformation that took place on Rapa Nui. This process includes the role of humans using fire to remove forest and convert to land for agricultural use as well as the impact of introduced rats (Rattus exulans) as agents that depressed recruitment of native vegetation and contributed to the island\u27s deforestation. For humans, the transformation of the landscape improved productivity. Burning of palms and other trees provided a short-term addition of nutrients to poor soils. Rock mulch and agricultural enclosures solved problems of cultivation and mitigated risk in an uncertain environment. The environmental transformation of Rapa Nui, while a tragedy in terms of biodiversity, was a success for a sustainable Polynesian subsistence economy

The role of culture in sustainable communities: the case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)

We explore how the combination of cultural heritage and present-day cultural affili- ations influences the construction of the concept of sustainability at the scale of the community using the case study of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We argue that overlapping affiliations—expressed through administrative culture, organizational culture, and professional culture—influence the views held by governance leaders. Furthermore, the role of cultural heritage must be considered in efforts to change and perpetuate sustainability-related behaviors within a community. Using archeo- logical and historical evidence from the pre-contact and historical record of Rapa Nui, we discuss how cultural heritage evolved endogenously in response to biophysical and socio-economic forces. We then explore how this cultural heritage inter- acts with cultural affiliations thorugh the analysis of interviews with six governance leaders. Five different discourses that reflect elements of the common heritage of the respondents as well as elements of their various administrative/organizational/ professional cultural affiliations emerge from this analysis

Automated mound detection using LiDAR and Object-Based Image Analysis in Beaufort County, SC

The study of prehistoric anthropogenic mounded features– earthen mounds, shell heaps, and shell rings – in the American Southeast is stymied by the spotty distribution of systematic surveys across the region. Many extant, yet unidentified, archaeological mound features continue to evade detection due to the heavily forested canopies that occupy large areas of the region, making pedestrian surveys difficult and preventing aerial observation. The use of object-based image analysis (OBIA) as a tool for analysing light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, however, offers an inexpensive opportunity to address this challenge. Using publicly available LiDAR data from Beaufort County, South Carolina and an OBIA approach that incorporates morphometric classification and statistical template matching, we systematically identify over 150 previously undetected archaeological mound features. This result improves our overall knowledge of settlement patterns by providing a systematic knowledge about prehistoric landscapes