Dynamic Simulation of Large Herbivore Distribution during the Last Glacial Maximum: Implications for the Distribution of Human Populations

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Novel Statistical Techniques in Archaeology II (QUANTARCH II)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this study we propose the use of agent-based modelling (ABM) and cellular automata (CA) to test the impact of predator-prey relationships on the distribution of prehistoric human populations. Our research goal is to establish a dynamic model of the distribution of large herbivores that constituted the main food source for human populations during the last Glacial in Western Europe. We propose the application of ABM and CA as an innovative methodology for modelling, simulating and analysing artificial herbivore communities in order to study predator-prey dynamics and their impact on human populations. Long-distance migrations of mammals can significantly impact the spatial dynamics of local populations and communities. ABMs, when coupled with CA, enable us to capture explicit representations of spatial processes, spatial interactions and multiscale phenomena and is tailored to the study of ecological and social systems. If this promising approach is to reach its full potential, the integration of data, models, and expertise from multiple fields into ABMs of organism migration is necessary. Thus, we will rely on already available data such as climate simulations and static modelling of the distribution of prehistoric human populations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Novel Statistical Techniques in Archaeology II (QUANTARCH II)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25700