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Understanding by the Lines We Map: Material Boundaries and the Social Interpretation of Archaeological Built Space

Vis, Benjamin (2017) Understanding by the Lines We Map: Material Boundaries and the Social Interpretation of Archaeological Built Space. In: Siart, Christoph and Forbriger, Markus and Bubenzer, Olaf, eds. Digital Geoarchaeology: New Techniques for Interdisciplinary Human-Environmental Research. Natural Science in Archaeology . Springer, pp. 81-105. ISBN 978-3-319-25314-5. E-ISBN 978-3-319-25316-9. (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-25316-9_6) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:61338)

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Abstract

End users of archaeological maps are restricted in what they know about the data they are using. Mapped information is regularly used for visualisation and spatial analysis in GIS to aid interpretation. Precisely how, then, can digital spatial data best support social interpretation? Boundaries are introduced as a heuristic device to work through a series of critical observations and theoretical concepts that enable an understanding and restructuring of spatial data for social interpretation. Establishing a firm foundation for this restructuring is important to nurture a critical awareness of how archaeology can contribute to the ‘new territory’ of GIS approaches. While this chapter focuses on the example of built environment maps—which helps to formulate pertinent questions and to demonstrate the research process—the arguments remain valid for archaeology as social science broadly conceived.

End users of archaeological maps are restricted in what they know about the data they are using. Mapped information is regularly used for visualisation and spatial analysis in GIS to aid interpretation. Precisely how, then, can digital spatial data best support social interpretation? Boundaries are introduced as a heuristic device to work through a series of critical observations and theoretical concepts that enable an understanding and restructuring of spatial data for social interpretation. Establishing a firm foundation for this restructuring is important to nurture a critical awareness of how archaeology can contribute to the ‘new territory’ of GIS approaches. While this chapter focuses on the example of built environment maps—which helps to formulate pertinent questions and to demonstrate the research process—the arguments remain valid for archaeology as social science broadly conceived.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/978-3-319-25316-9_6
Uncontrolled keywords: archaeological evidence; spatial theory and methods; interpretive GIS; built environment; material boundaries
Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Culture and Languages
Depositing User: Benjamin Vis
Date Deposited: 13 Apr 2017 09:03 UTC
Last Modified: 23 Feb 2021 10:27 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/61338 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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