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Outreach in Archaeology with Agent-Based Modeling: Part 3 of 3

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2019

Stefani A. Crabtree*
Affiliation:
Utah State University Department of Environment and Society, 5200 Old Main Hill, Logan UT 84322, USA; The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd. Santa Fe, NM, USA; The Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity, 8 bis Rue Charles V Paris 75004, Francehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8585-8943
Kathryn Harris
Affiliation:
Science & Technology Policy Fellow, The American Association for the Advancement of Science and The American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA (kaharris@wsu.edu)
Benjamin Davies
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 260 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 4625, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA (ben.davies@utah.edu) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9066-098X
Iza Romanowska
Affiliation:
Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Carrer de Jordi Girona, 29–31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain (iza.romanowska@bsc.es) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9487-2111
*
(sac376@psu.edu,corresponding author)

Abstract

A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to thepublic. Thankfully, new computational tools have enabled the testing andvisualization of complex ideas in an easily packageable format. In this articlewe illustrate not only how agent-based modeling provides a platform forcommunicating complex ideas, but also how these game-like computer models can beexplored and manipulated by members of the public therefore increasing theirengagement in archaeological explanations. We suggest that these new digitaltools serve as an excellent aid for education on the importance ofarchaeological sites and artifacts. To illustrate the above we walk the readerthrough a step-by-step pipeline of how to run an ABM model as an experiment andhow to export it into a form ready to be sent to SHPO and THPO offices in tandemwith reports. Ultimately, we hope that this work will help demystify thecomputational archaeology process and lead to more fluency in using agent-basedmodeling in research and outreach.

Uno de los mayores desafíos a los que se enfrentan losarqueólogos es hacer llegar nuestra disciplina al público.Afortunadamente, las nuevas herramientas computacionales nos permiten examinar yvisualizar ideas complejas en un formato más accesible. En esteartículo demostramos como los modelos basados en agentes pueden seruna plataforma eficaz para la comunicación de ideas complejas,así como accesibles al consumo público gracias a susimilitud con los videojuegos. Aquí sugerimos que estas nuevasherramientas digitales pueden ser usadas de forma didáctica paraeducar en la importancia de los yacimientos y artefactosarqueológicos. De esta manera, se pretende guiar al lector paso apaso para ejecutar un modelo como experimento que le permita exportar a lasoficinas del gobierno local (SHPO y THPO) en conjunto con los informesarqueológicos. En última instancia, esperamos que estetrabajo pueda ayudar a desmitificar el método de laarqueología computacional y permita su uso más frecuenteen la investigación y divulgaciónarqueológica.

Information

Type
How to Special Section: A Step-by-Step Guide for Using Agent-Based Modeling in Archaeological Research
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology 

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