This code is associated with the forthcoming publication Performing Outreach in Archaeology with ... more This code is associated with the forthcoming publication Performing Outreach in Archaeology with Agent-based modeling. A step-by-step guide for using agent-based modeling in archaeological research (Part III of III) by Crabtree et al. accepted to Advances in Archaeological Practice.
Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, 5215 ... more Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, 5215 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-5215, USA; Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia; and Crow Canyon Research Institute, 23390 Road K, Cortez, Colorado 81321, USA (stefani.crabtree@usu.edu). 21 VII 20
While environmental reconstruction has been a staple in the study of past societies, underused to... more While environmental reconstruction has been a staple in the study of past societies, underused tools from ecology, such as food webs, can enable a more thorough understanding of the human place within ecosystems. Drawing on two recent studies, this article describes the types of questions that can be addressed using this approach. The authors demonstrate how food webs that include archaeological data can provide insights into the effects of extinctions, invasion and ecosystem change on communities, and can address key questions of the structure and dynamics of past societies. This article highlights examples of best practice for the compilation of archaeo-ecological networks, and suggest ways of developing a synthetic understanding of past environments.
Citation: Lipe, W., Reed, C., Dolan, P. and Crabtree, S.(2010, March 26). Sandpiles and settlemen... more Citation: Lipe, W., Reed, C., Dolan, P. and Crabtree, S.(2010, March 26). Sandpiles and settlement shifts in the American Southwest. Poster presented at the Washington State University Academic Showcase, Pullman, WA.
In this work of speculative science, scientists from a distant star system explain the emergence ... more In this work of speculative science, scientists from a distant star system explain the emergence and consequences of triparentalism, when three individuals are required for sexual reproduction, which is the standard form of mating on their home world. The report details the evolution of their reproductive system--that is, the conditions under which triparentalism and three self-avoiding mating types emerged as advantageous strategies for sexual reproduction. It also provides an overview of the biological consequences of triparental reproduction with three mating types, including the genetic mechanisms of triparental reproduction, asymmetries between the three mating types, and infection dynamics arising from their different mode of sexual reproduction. The report finishes by discussing how central aspects of their society, such as short-lasting unions among individuals and the rise of a monoculture, might have arisen as a result of their triparental system.
Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substan... more Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substantial populations, occurred rapidly within a few thousand years and encompassed environments ranging from hyper-arid deserts to temperate uplands and tropical rainforests. How this migration occurred and how humans responded to the physical environments they encountered have, however, remained largely speculative. By constructing a high-resolution digital elevation model for Sahul and coupling it with fine-scale viewshed analysis of landscape prominence, least-cost pedestrian travel modelling and high-performance computing, we create over 125 billion potential migratory pathways, whereby the most parsimonious routes traversed emerge. Our analysis revealed several major pathways—superhighways—transecting the continent, that we evaluated using archaeological data. These results suggest that the earliest Australian ancestors adopted a set of fundamental rules shaped by physiological capacity...
This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing question... more This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing questions that can only now be asked with the rich data provided in southwestern Coloradoand southern France: how Gauls and colonists established economic partnerships, how violence may have shaped the development of multiple levels of leadership, and how earlyf armers interacted with their environments. Writing a dissertation composed of three distinct case studies, two from the U.S. Southwest and one from the south of France, I use tools developed in complexity science to better address how people in the past dealt with challenges related to resource acquisition. Agent-based modeling and network analysis (both social network analysis and trophic network analysis) will allow me to characterize human decision making processes and discuss how sharing of strategies within a group can lead to greater fitness of those in the in-group.
In archaeology, palaeo-ecological studies are frequently used to support archaeological investiga... more In archaeology, palaeo-ecological studies are frequently used to support archaeological investigations, but linking and synthesizing datasets and concepts from ecology, ethnography, earth sciences, and archaeology has historically been rare. While advances in computational approaches and standards of data collection have enabled more collaborative approaches to understanding the past, these endeavors are only now beginning to pick up pace. Here, we propose a method to collect data of these assorted types, synthesize ecological and archaeological understanding, and move beyond subsistence-focused studies to those that incorporate multifaceted economies. We advocate for the use of ‘human-centered interaction networks’ as a tool to synthesize and better understand the role of culture, ecology, and environment in the long-term evolution of socio-ecological systems. We advance the study of human-centered interaction networks by presenting an archaeoecological (archaeological-ecological) ...
Archaeologists reconstruct the activities and interactions of individuals using the accumulated m... more Archaeologists reconstruct the activities and interactions of individuals using the accumulated material culture of the past, yet detecting these interactions can be difficult using traditional archaeological analytical tools. The development of a methodological framework emerging from graph theory, coupled with the growth of computational power and a growing multidisciplinary theoretical framework aimed at interpreting these analyses, have eased the difficulties of uncovering, analyzing, and interpreting networks in the past. From examining physical locations of sites and how they interact together (Peregrine 1991) to examining trade routes and migration pathways (Hofman et al. 2018), and the exchange of ideas across time and space (Mills et al. 2013), network approaches have infiltrated archaeology and grown exponentially in published studies (Brughmans 2013; Mills 2017).
The pursuit of simple, yet fair, unbiased, and objective measures of researcher performance has o... more The pursuit of simple, yet fair, unbiased, and objective measures of researcher performance has occupied bibliometricians and the research community as a whole for decades. However, despite the diversity of available metrics, most are either complex to calculate or not readily applied in the most common assessment exercises (e.g., grant assessment, job applications). The ubiquity of metrics like the h-index (h papers with at least h citations) and its time-corrected variant, the m-quotient (h-index ÷ number of years publishing) therefore reflect the ease of use rather than their capacity to differentiate researchers fairly among disciplines, career stage, or gender. We address this problem here by defining an easily calculated index based on publicly available citation data (Google Scholar) that corrects for most biases and allows assessors to compare researchers at any stage of their career and from any discipline on the same scale. Our ε′-index violates fewer statistical assumptio...
Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human... more Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human activities. These resources are unique, as they are both finite and non-renewable. This provides a challenge for traditional visitor use management since these resources have no limits of acceptable change. However, with nearly every national park in the US containing cultural resources, coupled with ever-growing visitation, it is essential that managers of parks and protected areas have the ability to make science-informed decisions about cultural resources in the context of visitor use management. We propose a framework that can help provide context and exploration for these challenges. Drawing on previous literature, this framework includes risk-based approaches to decision making about visitor use; visitor cognitions related to cultural resources; emotions, mood, and affect related to cultural resource experiences; creating and evaluating interpretive programs; deviant visitor behav...
Formal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential f... more Formal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential for shaping some of the most topical current debates. Agent-based models, which emphasize how actions by individuals combine to produce global patterns, provide a convenient framework for developing quantitative models of historical social processes. However, being derived from computer science, the method remains largely specialized in archaeology. In this paper and the associated tutorial, we provide a jargon-free introduction to the technique, its potential and limits as well as its diverse applications in archaeology and beyond. We discuss the epistemological rationale of using computational modeling and simulation, classify types of models, and give an overview of the main concepts behind agent-based modeling.
A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, ... more A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, new computational tools have enabled the testing and visualization of complex ideas in an easily packageable format. In this article we illustrate not only how agent-based modeling provides a platform for communicating complex ideas, but also how these game-like computer models can be explored and manipulated by members of the public therefore increasing their engagement in archaeological explanations. We suggest that these new digital tools serve as an excellent aid for education on the importance of archaeological sites and artifacts. To illustrate the above we walk the reader through a step-by-step pipeline of how to run an ABM model as an experiment and how to export it into a form ready to be sent to SHPO and THPO offices in tandem with reports. Ultimately, we hope that this work will help demystify the computational archaeology process and lead to more fluency in using agent-based ...
ABSTRACTFormal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high pot... more ABSTRACTFormal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential for shaping some of the most topical current debates. Agent-based models, which emphasize how actions by individuals combine to produce global patterns, provide a convenient framework for developing quantitative models of historical social processes. However, being derived from computer science, the method remains largely specialized in archaeology. In this paper and the associated tutorial, we provide a jargon-free introduction to the technique, its potential and limits as well as its diverse applications in archaeology and beyond. We discuss the epistemological rationale of using computational modeling and simulation, classify types of models, and give an overview of the main concepts behind agent-based modeling.
This code is associated with the forthcoming publication Performing Outreach in Archaeology with ... more This code is associated with the forthcoming publication Performing Outreach in Archaeology with Agent-based modeling. A step-by-step guide for using agent-based modeling in archaeological research (Part III of III) by Crabtree et al. accepted to Advances in Archaeological Practice.
Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, 5215 ... more Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, 5215 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-5215, USA; Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia; and Crow Canyon Research Institute, 23390 Road K, Cortez, Colorado 81321, USA (stefani.crabtree@usu.edu). 21 VII 20
While environmental reconstruction has been a staple in the study of past societies, underused to... more While environmental reconstruction has been a staple in the study of past societies, underused tools from ecology, such as food webs, can enable a more thorough understanding of the human place within ecosystems. Drawing on two recent studies, this article describes the types of questions that can be addressed using this approach. The authors demonstrate how food webs that include archaeological data can provide insights into the effects of extinctions, invasion and ecosystem change on communities, and can address key questions of the structure and dynamics of past societies. This article highlights examples of best practice for the compilation of archaeo-ecological networks, and suggest ways of developing a synthetic understanding of past environments.
Citation: Lipe, W., Reed, C., Dolan, P. and Crabtree, S.(2010, March 26). Sandpiles and settlemen... more Citation: Lipe, W., Reed, C., Dolan, P. and Crabtree, S.(2010, March 26). Sandpiles and settlement shifts in the American Southwest. Poster presented at the Washington State University Academic Showcase, Pullman, WA.
In this work of speculative science, scientists from a distant star system explain the emergence ... more In this work of speculative science, scientists from a distant star system explain the emergence and consequences of triparentalism, when three individuals are required for sexual reproduction, which is the standard form of mating on their home world. The report details the evolution of their reproductive system--that is, the conditions under which triparentalism and three self-avoiding mating types emerged as advantageous strategies for sexual reproduction. It also provides an overview of the biological consequences of triparental reproduction with three mating types, including the genetic mechanisms of triparental reproduction, asymmetries between the three mating types, and infection dynamics arising from their different mode of sexual reproduction. The report finishes by discussing how central aspects of their society, such as short-lasting unions among individuals and the rise of a monoculture, might have arisen as a result of their triparental system.
Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substan... more Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substantial populations, occurred rapidly within a few thousand years and encompassed environments ranging from hyper-arid deserts to temperate uplands and tropical rainforests. How this migration occurred and how humans responded to the physical environments they encountered have, however, remained largely speculative. By constructing a high-resolution digital elevation model for Sahul and coupling it with fine-scale viewshed analysis of landscape prominence, least-cost pedestrian travel modelling and high-performance computing, we create over 125 billion potential migratory pathways, whereby the most parsimonious routes traversed emerge. Our analysis revealed several major pathways—superhighways—transecting the continent, that we evaluated using archaeological data. These results suggest that the earliest Australian ancestors adopted a set of fundamental rules shaped by physiological capacity...
This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing question... more This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing questions that can only now be asked with the rich data provided in southwestern Coloradoand southern France: how Gauls and colonists established economic partnerships, how violence may have shaped the development of multiple levels of leadership, and how earlyf armers interacted with their environments. Writing a dissertation composed of three distinct case studies, two from the U.S. Southwest and one from the south of France, I use tools developed in complexity science to better address how people in the past dealt with challenges related to resource acquisition. Agent-based modeling and network analysis (both social network analysis and trophic network analysis) will allow me to characterize human decision making processes and discuss how sharing of strategies within a group can lead to greater fitness of those in the in-group.
In archaeology, palaeo-ecological studies are frequently used to support archaeological investiga... more In archaeology, palaeo-ecological studies are frequently used to support archaeological investigations, but linking and synthesizing datasets and concepts from ecology, ethnography, earth sciences, and archaeology has historically been rare. While advances in computational approaches and standards of data collection have enabled more collaborative approaches to understanding the past, these endeavors are only now beginning to pick up pace. Here, we propose a method to collect data of these assorted types, synthesize ecological and archaeological understanding, and move beyond subsistence-focused studies to those that incorporate multifaceted economies. We advocate for the use of ‘human-centered interaction networks’ as a tool to synthesize and better understand the role of culture, ecology, and environment in the long-term evolution of socio-ecological systems. We advance the study of human-centered interaction networks by presenting an archaeoecological (archaeological-ecological) ...
Archaeologists reconstruct the activities and interactions of individuals using the accumulated m... more Archaeologists reconstruct the activities and interactions of individuals using the accumulated material culture of the past, yet detecting these interactions can be difficult using traditional archaeological analytical tools. The development of a methodological framework emerging from graph theory, coupled with the growth of computational power and a growing multidisciplinary theoretical framework aimed at interpreting these analyses, have eased the difficulties of uncovering, analyzing, and interpreting networks in the past. From examining physical locations of sites and how they interact together (Peregrine 1991) to examining trade routes and migration pathways (Hofman et al. 2018), and the exchange of ideas across time and space (Mills et al. 2013), network approaches have infiltrated archaeology and grown exponentially in published studies (Brughmans 2013; Mills 2017).
The pursuit of simple, yet fair, unbiased, and objective measures of researcher performance has o... more The pursuit of simple, yet fair, unbiased, and objective measures of researcher performance has occupied bibliometricians and the research community as a whole for decades. However, despite the diversity of available metrics, most are either complex to calculate or not readily applied in the most common assessment exercises (e.g., grant assessment, job applications). The ubiquity of metrics like the h-index (h papers with at least h citations) and its time-corrected variant, the m-quotient (h-index ÷ number of years publishing) therefore reflect the ease of use rather than their capacity to differentiate researchers fairly among disciplines, career stage, or gender. We address this problem here by defining an easily calculated index based on publicly available citation data (Google Scholar) that corrects for most biases and allows assessors to compare researchers at any stage of their career and from any discipline on the same scale. Our ε′-index violates fewer statistical assumptio...
Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human... more Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human activities. These resources are unique, as they are both finite and non-renewable. This provides a challenge for traditional visitor use management since these resources have no limits of acceptable change. However, with nearly every national park in the US containing cultural resources, coupled with ever-growing visitation, it is essential that managers of parks and protected areas have the ability to make science-informed decisions about cultural resources in the context of visitor use management. We propose a framework that can help provide context and exploration for these challenges. Drawing on previous literature, this framework includes risk-based approaches to decision making about visitor use; visitor cognitions related to cultural resources; emotions, mood, and affect related to cultural resource experiences; creating and evaluating interpretive programs; deviant visitor behav...
Formal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential f... more Formal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential for shaping some of the most topical current debates. Agent-based models, which emphasize how actions by individuals combine to produce global patterns, provide a convenient framework for developing quantitative models of historical social processes. However, being derived from computer science, the method remains largely specialized in archaeology. In this paper and the associated tutorial, we provide a jargon-free introduction to the technique, its potential and limits as well as its diverse applications in archaeology and beyond. We discuss the epistemological rationale of using computational modeling and simulation, classify types of models, and give an overview of the main concepts behind agent-based modeling.
A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, ... more A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, new computational tools have enabled the testing and visualization of complex ideas in an easily packageable format. In this article we illustrate not only how agent-based modeling provides a platform for communicating complex ideas, but also how these game-like computer models can be explored and manipulated by members of the public therefore increasing their engagement in archaeological explanations. We suggest that these new digital tools serve as an excellent aid for education on the importance of archaeological sites and artifacts. To illustrate the above we walk the reader through a step-by-step pipeline of how to run an ABM model as an experiment and how to export it into a form ready to be sent to SHPO and THPO offices in tandem with reports. Ultimately, we hope that this work will help demystify the computational archaeology process and lead to more fluency in using agent-based ...
ABSTRACTFormal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high pot... more ABSTRACTFormal models of past human societies informed by archaeological research have a high potential for shaping some of the most topical current debates. Agent-based models, which emphasize how actions by individuals combine to produce global patterns, provide a convenient framework for developing quantitative models of historical social processes. However, being derived from computer science, the method remains largely specialized in archaeology. In this paper and the associated tutorial, we provide a jargon-free introduction to the technique, its potential and limits as well as its diverse applications in archaeology and beyond. We discuss the epistemological rationale of using computational modeling and simulation, classify types of models, and give an overview of the main concepts behind agent-based modeling.
When faced with uncertain climates, reduction of resources, or natural disasters how do people re... more When faced with uncertain climates, reduction of resources, or natural disasters how do people react? In this session we highlight research from across the anthropological spectrum to explore how humanity has used, and continues to use, social networks to respond to environmental crises of varying proportions. The papers in this session either explicitly or implicitly focus on network based ideas that range from formal social network analysis and theory to ideas on community, resilience, and survivance. More importantly, they help bridge the gap between the present, the recent past, and the deep pretextual past. They demonstrate how an interdisciplinary approach to human persistence and resilience can help shed light on the human condition and can simultaneously make the strangeness of the past into a familiar entity that can inform on the here and now. This is especially relevant during times when environmental disasters transform the familiar present into a strange place, an immediate post-apocalyptic landscape set adrift from neighboring communities still grounded in the familiar and modern now. The studies presented here can help provide a guiding light for modern policy as we work to confront global disasters that may have far-reaching effects for our species. Moreover these papers show how the four fields in anthropology can be guided by similar principles, and how each of the fields can learn from research completed in the other sub-disciplines.
This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing question... more This project utilizes network analysis and agent-based modeling to examine long-standing questions that can only now be asked with the rich data provided in southwestern Colorado and southern France: how Gauls and colonists established economic partnerships, how violence may have shaped the development of multiple levels of leadership, and how early farmers interacted with their environments. Writing a dissertation composed of three distinct case studies, two from the U.S. Southwest and one from the south of France, I use tools developed in complexity science to better address how people in the past dealt with challenges related to resource acquisition. Agent-based modeling and network analysis (both social network analysis and trophic network analysis) will allow me to characterize human decision-making processes and discuss how sharing of strategies within a group can lead to greater fitness of those in the in-group.
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Papers by Stefani Crabtree