University of Southampton OCS (beta), CAA 2012

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GIS & Statistical Methods applied on the ager Tarraconensis.
José Ignacio Fiz

Last modified: 2011-12-22

Abstract


We present in this paper the results of applying various GIS functions and statistics methods to the study the settlement in the ager Tarraconensis, the territory of the roman colony of Tarraco (Tarragona, Spain). The database of sites has been obtained from the results of the diferent field survey campaigns and those sites previously known.  Using this information different explorations have been performed on the data. We have analyzed data from a chronological framework that extends from the sixth century BC to the third century AD. In an initial analysis we have been applied the Nearest Neighbor statistic to observe the behavior of the settlement, from a more generally territorial point of view. Then we have applied other methods in which we have modeled the structure and dynamics of the of the settlement. We also provide new data and ideas about the moment in that produces the arrival of the italic settlers, and how they were distributed in this territory at the end of the second century BC.

On the other hand we present here explanatory models of the periods of stability in the countryside during the julio-Claudian and flavian dinasties.  For example, from Kernel Density results we have analyzed several areas of the country and we have observed its evolution. Later, from a perspective based on natural divisions represented by the watersheds, we have implemented a number of statistics for the same purpose. Finally we have applied a Two steps cluster analysis using positional variables (for example the distance to the communication path, or the distance to water resources, etc.) in order to simulate the organization of settlement along the chronological period studied. These groups have allowed us to establish a model of the social behavior, overlaying the locations of known epigraphic inscriptions, and thus determining the spheres of social power during the flavian period.

 


Keywords


GIS; Nearest Neighbor; Two Steps Cluster Analysis; Watersheds; Tarraco