GIS-Based Automated Landform Classification for Analysis of Archaeological Sites

Abstract

This poster presents the first results of an attempt to classify archaeological sites by landform analysis of the landscape. To make further use of modelled DEM-derived site catchments, it is possible to classify the relief to be able to compare the sites environment quantitatively. To achieve that goal, we implemented the TPI-based landform classification approach from Weiss (2001) in ArcGIS and applied it to a study area in Andalusia (Spain) to compare the results for various Solutrean sites. The applied method (Weiss 2001) is a straightforward approach to classify the relief, although it is not assured that the method works well in every landscape since it is scale dependent (De Reu et al 2013). Possible improvements could be carried out by the inclusion of other landscape features like curvature or aspect and by further verification of the results in different landscapes. We also plan to apply the landform classification data into further GIS-based modelling approaches.

Resources

• Becker_Daniel_2014_Poster-ReliefClassification_Rösrath.pdf

Bibliography

Becker, D., de Andrés-Herrero, M., Willmes, C., Bareth, G., Weniger, G. (2014): GIS-Based Automated Landform Classification for Analysis of Archaeological Sites. Collaborative Research Centre 806