Using 3-D GIS in Archaeology Classrooms: An Example from Hells Canyon,Oregon

Abstract

Excavation data from an ancestral Nez Perce dwelling in Hells Canyon, Oregon (1600–500 B.P.) are used to integrate 3-D GIS and spatio-temporal problem-solving for university-level archaeology instruction. By working through three sequential projects, students learn visualization skills as well as archaeological methods, spatial thinking, and problem-solving. These projects include digital excavation of a house site with evaluation of the spatio-temporal relationships and patterns of artifacts, group analysis of different occupation layers, and 3-D visualization. Beyond this, students were encouraged to continue to explore areas of interest, develop new research questions, and complete more detailed studies as independent research efforts. Applications like 3-D GIS have the potential to reach many more students and dramatically increase student interest in and understanding of archaeology, using computer methods as a supplement to field work.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agugiaro

Remondino

Girardi

Von Schwerin

Richards-Rissetto

De Amicis

2011 A Web-Based Interactive Tool for Multi-Resolution 3-D Models of a Maya Archaeological Site, International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XXXVIII-5/W16, ISPRS Trento 2011 Workshop, Trento, Italy, March 2–4.

Aldenderfer

Maschner

H.D.G.

, editors 1996 Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems, Oxford University Press, New York.

Allen

K. M. S.

Green

S. W.

Zubrow

E. B. W.

1990 Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology, Taylor and Francis, New York.

Ames

K. M.

Marshall

A. G.

1980 Villages, Demography, and Subsistence Intensification on the Southern Columbia Plateau, North American Archaeologist, 2, pp. 25–52.

Apollonio

Gaiani

Benedetti

2012 3-D Reality-Based Artifact Models for the Management of Archaeological Sites Using 3-D GIS: A Framework Starting from the Case Study of the Pompeii Archaeological Area, Journal of Archaeological Science, 39, pp. 1271–1287.

Ashworth

1977 Hells Canyon: The Deepest Gorge on Earth, Hawthorn Books, New York.

Bettinger

R. L.

1991 Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological and Evolutionary Theory, Plenum Press, New York.

Binford

L. R.

1987 Researching Ambiguity: Frames of Reference and Site Structure, in Method and Theory for Activity Area Research, Kent

(ed.), Columbia University, Press, New York, pp. 449–512.

Booth

2000 Using ArcGIS 3-D Analyst, ESRI Press Inc., Redlands, California.

10.

Brauner

D. R.

1976 Alpowai: The Culture of the Alpowa Locality, unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.

11.

Caldwell

W. W.

Mallory

O. L.

1967 Hells Canyon Archeology, Smithsonian Institution, River Basin Surveys, Publications in Salvage Archeology, No. 6. Washington, DC.

12.

Carrey

Conley

Barton

1977 Snake River of Hells Canyon, Backeddy Books, Cambridge, Idaho.

13.

Chatters

J. C.

Hackenberger

1995 Archaeological Investigations at Two House Sites, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, report to Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, U.S. Forest Service, by University of Wisconsin Centers, Rock County, Wisconsin.

14.

Chatters

J. C.

Langdon

J. L.

2002a Patterning in the Cultural Landscape, in Archaeological Survey of Hells Canyon: Hells Canyon Dam to the Mouth of the Salmon River, Chatters

James

Root

M. J.

(eds.), Idaho Power Company, Boise, pp. 43–68.

15.

Chatters

J. C.

Root

M. J.

, editors 2002b Archaeological Survey of Hells Canyon: Hells Canyon Dam to the Mouth of the Salmon River, Chatters

James

Root

M. J.

(eds.), Idaho Power Company, Boise.

16.

Divale

W. T.

1973 An Explanation for Matrilocal Residence, in Being Female: Reproduction, Power, and Change, Raphael

Dana

(ed.), Aldine, Chicago, pp. 99–108.

17.

Divale

W. T.

1974 Migration, External Warfare, Matrilocal Residence, Behavior Science Research, 9, pp. 75–133.

18.

Divale

W. T.

1977 Living Floor Area and Marital Residence: A Replication, Behavior Science Research, 2, pp. 109–115.

19.

Donues

Neubaur

2005 3-D Laser Scanners on Archaeological Excavations, CIPA 2005 XX Symposium, Torino, Italy.

20.

Ember

C. R.

1975 Residential Variation among Hunter-Gatherers, Behavior Science Research, 3, pp. 199–227.

21.

Ember

1973 An Archaeological Indicator of Matrilocal Versus Patrilocal Residence, American Antiquity, 38:2, pp. 177–183.

22.

Ember

1975 Evaluation of Alternative Theories of Matrilocal Versus Patrilocal Residence, Behavior Science Research, 2, pp. 135–149.

23.

ESRI 2002 ArcGIS 3-D Analyst, ESRI Press Inc., Redlands, California.

24.

Fairbanks

2010 Case Studies in GIS and 3-D Modeling and Spatial Thinking Using Tryon Creek Excavation Data, Hells Canyon, Or, unpublished MS thesis, Resource Management Program, Central Washington University, Ellensburg.

25.

Franklin

J. F.

Dyrness

C. T.

1973 Natural Vegetation of Oregon and Washington, USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PNW-8 Pacific Northwest Forest and Experiment Station, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.

26.

Friedman

1979 Cultural Resource Inventory Plan Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, report on file at the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Baker, Oregon.

27.

Friedman

1982 Archaeological Overview, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (Vol. 1), report on file at the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Baker, Oregon.

28.

Gibbs

Roe

Gojek

2005

Useless Graduates? Why Do We All Thihnk That Something Has Gone Wrong with Australian Archaeological Training?

Australian Archaeology, Number 61.

29.

Hackenberger

1988 Cultural Ecology and Evolution in Central Montane Idaho, unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.

30.

Hackenberger

1993 Knight Creek (35-WA-767) Archaeological Investigations Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Wallowa County, Oregon, Central Washington Archaeological Survey, Ellensburg, Washington.

31.

Hackenberger

2009 Prehistoric Settlement Patterns of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau, in Archaeology in America (Vol. 3), Southwest and Great Basin-Plateau, McManamon

F. P.

(ed.), Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, pp. 245–252.

32.

Hackenberger

Sisson

Womack

1987 Middle and Late Prehistoric Residential Strategies Along the Middle Snake, Salmon, and Middle Fork Salmon Rivers, Idaho, in Households and Communities, Proceedings of the 21st Annual Chacmool Conference, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, pp. 133–142.

33.

Hackenberger

Thompson

R. W.

1994 Archaeological Investigations Tryon Creek Site (35-WA-288) 1991–92, report submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

34.

Harris

T. M.

Lock

G. R.

1996 Multi-Dimensional GIS: Exploratory Approaches to Spatial and Temporal Relationships within Archaeological Stratigraphy, in Interfacing the Past: Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology CAA95 (Vol. II), Kamermans

Fennema

(eds.), Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 28, University of Leiden, pp. 307–316.

35.

Herries

Fisher

2010 Multidimensional GIS Modeling of Magnetic Mineralogy as a Proxy for Fire Use and Spatial Patterning: Evidence from the Middle Stone Age Bearing Sea Cave of Pinnacle Point 13B (Western Cape, South Africa), Journal of Human Evolution, 59:3, pp. 306–320.

36.

Hespanha

Goodchild

Janelle

2009 Spatial Thinking and Technologies in the Undergraduate Social Sciences Classroom, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(Suppl 1), S17–S27.

37.

Hickey

2010 Beyond Class Hours: The GIS Lab as a Center of Geographic Education, International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 1:3, pp. 1–16

38.

Howser

2005 Improving Undergraduate Geographic and Information Literacy by Using GIS Software, in ESRI GIS Education Users Conference, ESRI, San Diego, California, July 2005.

39.

Jenks

K. L.

2014 Teaching Students about Stewardship: Current Concerns and Approaches, The SAA Archaeological Record, 14:1, pp. 33–35.

40.

Kamermans

Fennema

, editors 1996 Interfacing the Past: Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology CAA95 (Vol. II), Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 28, University of Leiden.

41.

Kamp

2014 Teaching Archaeology in the First Part of the Twenty-First Century. The SAA Archaeological Record, 14:1, pp. 30–32.

42.

Katsianis

Tsipidis

Kotsakis

Kousoulakou

2008 A 3-D Digital Workflow for Archaeological Intra-Site Research Using GIS, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35, pp. 655–667.

43.

Kelly

R. L.

2007 The Foraging Spectrum: Diversity in Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways (Rev. version), Percheron Press, Clinton Corners, New York.

44.

Kidman

G. C.

Palmer

2006 GIS: The Technology is There but the Teaching is Yet to Catch Up, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 15:3, pp. 289–296.

45.

Kvamme

K. L.

1996 Spatial Statistics and GIS: An Integrated Approach, in Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems, Oxford University Press, New York.

46.

Langdon

J. L.

2001 The Evaluation and Conservation of Late Prehistoric House Features in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications in Archaeological Research, unpublished Master's thesis, Resource Management Program, Central Washington University, Ellensburg.

47.

Legates

2005 Teaching Spatially Integrated Research Methods, in 25th Annual ESRI International User Group Conference, ESRI, San Diego.

48.

Leonhardy

F. C.

Rice

D. G.

1970 A Proposed Culture Typology for the Snake River Region of Southeastern Washington, Northwest Anthropological Research Notes, 4:1, pp. 1–29.

49.

Leonhardy

F. C.

Thompson

R. W.

1990 Archaeological Investigations at 35-WA-286 and 35-WA-288, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, 1989, report on file at the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Baker City, Oregon.

50.

Losier

L. M.

Pouliot

Fortin

2007 3-D Geometrical Modeling of Excavation Units at the Archaeological Site of Tell 'Acharneh (Syria), Journal of Archaeological Science, 34, pp. 272–288.

51.

Marshall

A. G.

1977 Nez Perce Social Groups: An Ecological Interpretation, unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Order No. 77-20, 104.

52.

Moore

Larsen

Sinton

2012 The Spatially Interactive Literature Analysis System Study Tool: A GIS-Based Approach to Interpreting History in the Classroom, International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3:3, pp. 70–85.

53.

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (NRC) 2006 Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

54.

Nigo

J. D.

Ungar

P. S.

De Ruiter

D. J.

Berger

L. R.

2003 Developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) for Mapping and Analysing Fossil Deposits at Swartkrans, Gauteng Province, South Africa, Journal of Archaeological Science, 30, pp. 317–324.

55.

Pavesic

M. G.

1986 Descriptive Archaeology of Hells Canyon Creek Village, Boise State University, Archaeological Reports No. 14, Boise, Idaho.

56.

Prentiss

W. C.

Chatters

J. C.

2003 The Evolution of Collector Systems on the Pacific Coast of Northwest North America, Senri Ethological Studies, 63, pp. 49–80.

57.

Reid

K. C.

, editor 1991a Prehistory and Paleoenvironments at Pittsburg Landing: Data Recovery and Test Excavations at Six Sites in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, West Central Idaho, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Project Report Number 15, Volume I, Washington State University, Pullman.

58.

Reid

K. C.

, editor 1991b An Overview of Cultural Resources in the Snake River Basin: Prehistory and Paleoenvironments, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Project Report No. 13, Washington State University, Pullman.

59.

Sappington

R. L.

1994 The Prehistory of the Clearwater River Region, North Central Idaho, University of Idaho Anthropology Reports No. 95, Moscow.

60.

Sauerbier

2009 GIS-Based Management and Analysis of the Geoglyphs in the Palpa Region, dissertation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland.

61.

Sayre

2014 Student-Initiated Projects, the Filliped Classroom, and Crowdfunding, The SAA Archaeological Record, 14:1, pp. 14–17.

62.

Schwede

M. L.

1966 An Ecological Study of Nez Perce Settlement Patterns, unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.

63.

Shiffer

M. B.

1976 Behavioral Archaeology, Academic Press, New York.

64.

Shiffer

M. B.

, editor 1995 Behavioral Archaeology: First Principles, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

65.

Sinton

2009 Roles for GIS within Higher Education, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 31, pp. S1, S7–S16.

66.

Smith

Friedman

2004 3-D GIS: A Technology Who's Time Has Come, in Earth Observation Magazine, November.

67.

Smith

Levy

2012 Real-Time 3-D Archaeological Field Recording: ArchField, and Open Source GIS System Pioneered in Southern Jordan, Antiquity, 86:331.

68.

Spikins

Conneller

Ayestaran

Scaife

2002 GIS Based Interpolation Applied to Distinguishing Occupation Phases of Early Prehistoric Sites, Journal of Archaeological Science, 29, pp. 235–1245.

69.

Spinden

H. J.

1908 The Nez Percé, Indians, American Anthropological Association, Memoir 2, Menasha, Wisconsin pp. 165–274.

70.

Thompson

1993 Activity Areas and Architecture at Tak-in-pal-loo: Internal Spatial Analysis of a Tryon Creek Site Housepit, Hells Canyon, Oregon, unpublished Masters thesis, Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.

71.

Trafzer

C. E.

1992 The Nez Perce, Chelsea House Publishers, New York.

72.

Warren

C. N.

Sims

Pavisic

M. G.

1966 Cultural Chronology in Hells Canyon, Tebiwa, 11:2, pp. 1–37.

73.

Wheatly

1996 Going Over Old Ground: GIS, Archaeological Theory and the Act of Perception, in Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems, Mark Aldenderfer Maschner

Herbert D. G.

(eds.), Oxford University Press, New York.