Mapping Marginal Landscapes – A Study from Neolithic Shetland

Summary

The Shetland Islands are the northernmost part of Europe where farming was practiced in the Neolithic, between 3800 and 2500 BCE. The islands’ isolated location coupled with distinct environmental factors resulted in distinctive and localized customs and economies. These are most clearly manifest in the production and distribution of felsite polished stone axes and Shetland knives sourced from linear grey-blue dykes in the elevated North Roe region of the islands. These artefacts are found throughout the islands but never further afield.

This paper presents data and some preliminary findings from a project undertaken by University College Dublin School of Archaeology. Geographical information systems form the backbone for storing and viewing the many datasets used in the project. They also facilitate multi-scalar analysis allowing us to explore questions or landscape and environmental interaction at different scales from the regional sourcing of felsite to individual quarry site morphologies and topographies. This paper will explore some of the work undertaken using GIS, remote sensing and more quantitative analytical techniques including site prediction, exploring economies of movement and transportation and understanding the role of the perceived environment in site situation.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Digital Analysis of the Natural and Cultural Interface

Keywords

Spatial Coverage