Observations of land use transformations during the Neolithic using exploratory spatial data analysis: contributions and limitations

Lucile Pillot (1) , Laure Saligny (2) , Clément Moreau (1) , Rémi Martineau (1) , Boris Vannière (3) , Maréva Gabillot (1) , Isabelle Jouffroy-Bapicot (3)

1 ARTeHiS - Archéologie, Terre, Histoire, Sociétés [Dijon]
2 GEOBFC - Plateforme GEOBFC (Géomatique Bourgogne Franche-Comté)
3 LCE - Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249)

The settlement pattern analysis in archaeology implies some methodological questions. In this paper, we question some issues about the use of geostatistical methods for the observation of land use transformations during the Neolithic. We have developed two examples in Burgundy (France): the first one on a regional scale and the second one on a micro-regional scale. Using different ESDA approaches (Ripley’K function, Nearest Neighbour Distance, Kernel Density Estimation), we would like to underline what the methodological and archaeological contributions and their limits are. Both experiences point out that the results obtained depend not only on the analytical scale, but also on the quality and the quantity of the studied data. The contribution of this paper is to prove that scale, quality and quantity, are three essential parameters for the “reflexive approach” when using spatial statistics in landscape problems.

Mots clés: Spatial analysis; Neolithic; Land Use; Settlement analysis; ESDA; Spatial patterns; Ripley’K function; Kernel Density Estimation Method

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Lucile Pillot, Laure Saligny, Clément Moreau, Rémi Martineau, Boris Vannière, et al.. Observations of land use transformations during the Neolithic using exploratory spatial data analysis: contributions and limitations. CAA2010. Fusion of Cultures. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitatve Methods in Archaeology, Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, Apr 2010, Granada, Spain. pp.201-208. ⟨hal-00669394⟩