Comparing Two Archaeological Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Predictive Models: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem versus the Pinelands, New Jersey

Summary

This paper compares two new predictive models of prehistoric archaeological site locations to better understand modelling successes and complications. For my recent M.A. thesis project, I created one model for Yellowstone National Park to predict Paleoindian site locations within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of the northwestern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. I created the second model for the Pinelands region of central New Jersey for the United States Air National Guard, Warren Grove Gunnery Range. Both regions—Yellowstone and the Pinelands—have enough previous archaeological data to propose a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) predictive model of prehistoric site locations. While construction of the models varied for a variety of reasons, I used generally similar modelling methodologies for both. However, these two models were developed from very dissimilar site locational data and from completely different regional landscapes. On one hand, the Yellowstone model was developed specifically for Paleoindian archaeological site locations over a large and diverse mixture of landscapes in the Great Plains and Rockies. In contrast, the Warren Grove Pinelands model was developed using a relatively low number of sites, by comparison, within a fairly homogenous landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21318