Contribution of Geographic Information System (GIS)

Article Study Case Contribution of Geographic Information System (GIS) Applications in Various Scales of Landscape Archaeology Studies Amelia Rose Smith Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA ameliaroses2019@gmail.com Abstract The recent development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has impacted on archaeological interests, both at the level of site estimation and exploration, site distribution presentation, various types of spatial analysis and modeling, to the level of archaeological resource management (PSA), especially for decision making. On the side of archaeological studies, the demands and heavy tasks ahead, is how this discipline is able to access, process and structure, present, and update continuously all geo-cultural information in the dimensions of form, time, and space that are increasingly infinite in complexity. All forms of geo-cultural information and their dynamics, which are the substance of a landscape condition, require archaeology to "take part" in various multidisciplinary studies. The existence of a comprehensive and structured landscape database, as well as the ability to analyze and evaluate forms of inter-relationship between geospheric phenomena, are the basic assets for the success of such a study. Keywords: Geographic Information System (GIS), Landscape Archaeology Geographic Information System (GIS) A. General Definition of GIS GIS grew in response to the need for more efficient spatial data management and the ability to solve spatial problems. Planners and managers of natural resources and the military, who use maps to present the condition of the earth's surface, began to feel that the making and use of manual maps had many disadvantages. In addition to being difficult to correct and add information, combining maps with information from other sources, especially in a multi-theme manner, was impossible. With the development of the use of computers for handling geographic data in the early 1980s, these obstacles were finally overcome. GIS technology developed and continued to improve as more and more people utilized it. GIS is a system for collecting, storing, manipulating (modeling), analyzing, and presenting a set of spatial data that has a geographic reference or location reference. AMELIA ROSE SMITH 1 Amelia Rose Smith Technically, GIS also refers to an information system that uses computers and refers to geographic locations that are useful for assisting decision making. B. Components of GIS As an information system, operating a GIS requires at least three basic components consisting of hardware, software, and brainware. Hardware is the physical equipment to carry out the work as a whole, including all types of data input and output peripherals. Several types of computers, scanners, digitizing tables, GPS receivers, cameras, printers, plotters, and data storage and viewing media are part of this hardware. Software includes programs and user interfaces to control the hardware, either in the form of system software that controls the work of the computer in general, or application software that performs specific functions according to user needs. Some types of software that are commonly used include Arc/INFO, ArcView GIS, ArcGIS, Maplnfo, ILWIS, AutoCAD Map, GRASS GIS, and GeoMedia. In addition, there are several other software for geographically oriented image processing work, including ILWIS, ER Mapper, ENVI, PCI Geomatics, TNT Mips, IDRISI, and ERDAS. GIS software has the ability to read data from a variety of other software formats, thus overcoming many obstacles in spatial analysis. With this capability, efforts to exchange input data and output results do not require users to convert all data into a specific format. ArcView GIS, for example, is able to integrate CAO format drawing files into its environment without having to first convert them into ArcView GIS themes or shapefiles. By simply enabling the Cad Reader extension, users will be able to create, display, and activate themes directly from the CAO format drawing files as they are; including inserting multiple files simultaneously, assigning symbols, colors, sending queries, and performing analysis just like ArcView GIS shapefiles themselves. In addition, users can also perform join operations between tabular data and spatial features in CAD drawings, and then analyze spatial relationships, both among spatial elements in CAO drawings and in other data sources. The spatial features in the CAD drawings files are from Autocad (*.DWG format and *.DXF format) and MicroStation software. ArcView GIS and ArcGIS, as commonly used application software, have the ability to combine a number of separate data sources, including graphical data and attribute data. Graphical data or spatial data is digital data that describes a map (the Earth's AMELIA ROSE SMITH 2 Article Study Case surface) that includes coordinates, lines, and symbols that indicate cartographic elements. Attribute data or tabular data are tables that describe the characteristics, qualities, or relationships of map appearances and geographic locations. Besides its reliability in data capture (input), storage, editing, modeling, analysis, synthesis, and display of information, another specialty of GIS software lies in its consistency in requiring the presentation of geo-referenced (coordinated) spatial information. All geospheric phenomena can be displayed and compiled precisely and accurately. The integrity of the spatial information required, processed and generated by it, shows the close relationship between GIS and various forms of spatial presentation, especially maps, satellite images and GPS reciever data. In other words, GIS cannot be separated from maps and remote sensing results that provide vital data about various spatial phenomena at a reliable level of accuracy. The two types of devices above (hardware and software) will not operate optimally without the human mind (brainware) that controls the objectives, benefits, reasons, and justifications for using GIS. In this case, several qualifications of expertise are needed as components of the actors, including operators, technicians, analysts, decision makers, programmers, cartographers, and remote sensing experts. Their synergy is needed to carry out four main activities in GIS, known as the IMAP-model, including : 1. Input : These include digitizing, scanning, data transformation, data conversion, and connection with other devices (input devices). 2. Management : including database management, data structures, data dictionaries, metadata, data standardization, and quality control. The database in question is a collection of free data and attributes (tables) that are interrelated into a single unit, which can be added, corrected, and recalled appropriately for various purposes. 3. Analysis/Processing : including overlay, spatial joint, buffer, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), network, modeling, editing, data calculation and integration, and classification and rectification. 4. Presentation/Output : includes map composition, print control quality, and interactive maps, which can display thematic (synthetic) maps, tabulations, and spatial information systems. AMELIA ROSE SMITH 3 Amelia Rose Smith The mindset of GIS is to generate entirely new information through spatial processing of different themes. Such data processing requires an understanding of the logical inter-relationships between geographical elements to produce a synthesis, as is the path taken in the production of thematic-thematic maps. What themes are required and how they are processed are part of the brainware that must be mastered to produce new information (see figure 1). Figure 1. Example of Overlaying a multi-theme map to create new information For example, in conducting land zoning, the input data are maps of land components (slope, land use, soil physical and chemical properties, and land status), and the output is a Land Zone Map. Another example of a data processing mindset that requires specialized knowledge of a natural phenomenon is the analysis of erosion hazard on temple distribution. Often the Erosion Hazard Map is not available, so a multi-theme analysis must be AMELIA ROSE SMITH 4 Article Study Case conducted. The problem is that not all thematic maps are suitable for this type of study. This is where an understanding of erosion phenomena is needed to determine relevant themes, in the form of Rainfall Maps, Slope Maps, Geology! Soil Geology Map, and Land Cover Map. Through the process of overlaying and processing the attribute data, the combined map will produce an Erosion Hazard Map. From this, erosion hazard zoning can be done on the distribution of temples. C. GIS Development and Archaeological Relevance Today, GIS has undergone rapid development, triggered by at least three things , namely the development of computer technology and information systems; the development of spatial analysis methods in various disciplines, especially geography and other spatial sciences; and the development of application needs in various fields that require handling spatial aspects and computer-based modeling. The rapid development of GIS provides mutual benefits to each component actor. For designers/ - programmers, for example, the GIS framework requires them to simultaneously develop skills and concepts (knowledge) that are up to date and multidimensional. Even an operator cannot optimize his work without a concept of his work output. For them, GIS is a vehicle and a structured form of learning. As for the users, GIS provides several advantages including ease, speed, and accuracy in the decision-making process; increased understanding of the spatial conditions faced; and enrichment of ideas for developing studies. So it is not surprising that the development of GIS was eventually followed by the development of methodologies in the surrounding sciences that have a spatial basis, including archaeology. In the field of archaeology, GIS has been developed since a scientific meeting of the Society for American Archaeology was held in America in 1985 with the theme "Computer-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS): a future tool for solving past problems" (Harris & Lock 1990 in Rangkuti 1996). Its role in AMELIA ROSE SMITH 5 Amelia Rose Smith archaeology was originally in the context of Archaeological Resource Management (ARM), which applies a lot of locational analysis. In this application, GIS provides a lot of input in the decision-making process. The predictive models it builds allow it to be applied as a tool for classification, calculation, combination, and visualization of the appearance of spatial variables. With these advantages, it is reasonable to make GIS the main data management tool in PSA activities. Opportunities for the development of GIS in mummy archaeology research activities are also opening up, and are much broader than just producing thematic maps. One of the archaeological studies that requires the application of spatial analysis methods is Landscape Archaeology, which includes Settlement Pattern analysis, Territorial Analysis, and site estimation models Landscape Archaeology A. Definition of Landscaping The term 'landscape' is generally similar in meaning to the terms 'landscape', 'physiography' and 'environment'. The difference between them lies in the interpretation aspect. Landscapes in which there are units of landforms are the basis of the human environment with various similarities and differences (diversity) of elements. Landform conditions like this provide a physiographic picture of an area. An area characterized by landforms, soils, vegetation, and attributes of human influence, collectively expressed through physiographic conditions, is known as a landscape. The above limitation of landscape is a limitation in a broad sense. More specifically, landscape can be defined as a region or area on the earth's surface with certain delineations (boundaries), represented by a geotope or group of geotopes (i.e. a relatively homogeneous part of the geosphere in terms of its form and processes). For example, the landscape of structural mountains is different from the landscape of alluvial plains, coastal areas, karst hills, areas of volcanic and fluvial formations, and so on. This limitation emphasizes the need AMELIA ROSE SMITH 6 Article Study Case for delineation to visualize a landscape as a spatial unit based on specifications of landforms, vegetation, and -artificial features. According to its character, a landscape can present a complex picture with properties that vary over space and time. However, the dominance of certain elements in a landscape will make it easier to recognize its types, including : 1. Natural Landscape, i.e. natural landforms as phenomena/manifestations on earth, such as mountains and seas. This category has the most general boundaries, and can be equated with the term "scenery" according to common terminology. 2. Physical Landscape, which is a landscape that is still dominated by natural elements, interspersed with cultural appearances. The living system and its natural and non-natural components are contained in this landscape. 3. Social Landscape, a landscape with varied physical and social appearances due to the heterogeneity of adaptation and distribution of the population to their environment, such as cities and villages with various individual and public facilities. In addition to reflecting the pattern of adaptation, this landscape also visualizes the perception of the population towards the surrounding environment. Thus, social landscapes are zones that describe the structure of the socio-economic life of the population. 4. conomical Landscape, which is a landscape dominated by various economically oriented buildings, such as industrial areas, trade areas, urban areas, and plantation areas. 5. Cultural Landscape, is a building/cultural element with natural features as its background, for example a residential area with rice fields, gardens, and plantation areas. Although the above categorization is sometimes difficult to observe strictly, it can be generally stated that the visualization of a landscape is formed by two main things. Firstly, the combination of natural and non-natural characteristics AMELIA ROSE SMITH 7 Amelia Rose Smith of spaces on and near the earth's surface that are dynamic in nature; Secondly, the result of continuous change from dynamic interactions between spheres, because basically landscapes are an expression of close relationships between spheres in a certain space and time. The emphasis of this study lies on the benefits of a landscape for humans and the positive-negative influence of humans on the landscape. B. Definition of Landscape Archaeology Based on the geographical terminology of landscape above, archaeology also has an interest in looking at the phenomenon of data/site distribution within the framework of landscape understanding. The development of landscape archaeology approaches that have been increasingly widespread lately has unwittingly enriched the complexity of the landscape itself. Landscape archaeology, which first developed in Europe, can be considered the result of new developments in the field of scientific methodology thanks to its efforts to place issues of human settlement in the context of the physical landscape. The application of this approach has many advantages, not only for archaeology, but also for the study of human geography, both of which are complementary. On the one hand, human geography deals with the ways in which humans exploit and modify their habitats, settlement patterns, markets and communication networks, and demographic trends. Evidence of human activity across a wide range of landscapes is the object of study for human geographers. rchaeology, on the other hand, focuses its research on areas where there is evidence of material culture, either through excavation or ecological reconstruction. Based on a geographical perspective, archaeology has also begun to expand its studies from limited areas into the study of adaptation and settlement patterns on a regional scale. In fact, not only settlement issues, the availability of natural resources and the influence of increasing human populations on fauna and flora, which are the study of landscape ecology (Moran AMELIA ROSE SMITH 8 Article Study Case 1990), eventually did not escape the study of landscape archaeology. By observing at least two related components, namely physical and cultural components, landscape archaeology can be categorized as a frontier study that synergizes physical and cultural aspects, and the inter-relationship between them to form past landscape phenomena. Physically, classification is needed here to simplify the complex landforms on the earth's surface into landform units that have similarities in terms of their properties and characteristics. Landform, which is part of the earth's surface with distinctive shapes due to geological processes and structures during its development period, is one of the landscape components that need to be recognized and delineated. Verstappen (1983) has categorized nine units of landforms based on their genes (origins), namely landforms of volcanic, structural, denudational, fluvial, marine, wind, dissolution, grazing, and organism activities. Each of these formations will develop over time and the intensity of the geomorphic processes that influence them, so that the stages of processes that have taken place, and even those that will take place, can be recognized and predicted. In addition to landforms, other physical elements that help shape a landscape are soil, water and vegetation. On the other hand, archaeology deals a lot with cultural aspects, whether they are technological, sociological, or ideological. The interaction of these physical and cultural aspects determines the patterns of morphology, morphogenesis, morphochronology, and morphoassociation, which have an impact on the suitability of spatial functions, spatial quality, forms of adaptation, cultural evolution, transformation processes, accessibility, availability of natural resources, and so on. The involvement of cultural aspects in shaping a landscape often leads to anomalous forms that "deviate" from the original nature of a landform. These anomalies include deviations in river flow patterns (drainage patterns), contour patterns, alignment patterns, landuse patterns, symptoms of changes in groundwater levels, and various other altered features. The key to recognizing AMELIA ROSE SMITH 9 Amelia Rose Smith these anomalies is to know how natural patterns should form on a landform. It is through these various deformities that human interference in the past can be recognized. Thus, landscape archaeology is a branch of archaeology that emphasizes its studies and approaches on the relationship between the style and distribution of archaeological phenomena and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape/physiographic changes. How to recognize and explain landscape changes due to human influence; how landscape conditions control forms of human intervention; and how to visualize and explain the relationship between humans and (the) landscape until the formation of altered landscapes, are big questions that must be answered through the study of landscape archaeology. Figure 2. landscape archeology diagram The description above emphasizes that landscape archaeology studies require the availability of forms of spatial representation (maps, aerial photographs, and/or satellite images), both in their position as data, analysis AMELIA ROSE SMITH 10 Article Study Case instruments, and study results. Because a landscape is formed by several components, especially landforms, soil, water, vegetation, and various forms of human influence, it requires a base map and various thematic maps, including the database structure, in order to carry out spatial analysis. Not just to produce a site distribution map, as is currently done in Indonesia, but a thematicsynthetic map that is able to describe and explain landscape phenomena according to the purpose and scale of the research. From a scientific perspective, a major challenge in landscape archaeological analysis in Indonesia today is how to visualize the process of past landscape changes due to human intervention; and how landscape changes control human strategies for adaptation and settlement. Through the application of GIS, it is possible to conduct spatial modeling that can address these challenges. Landscape Archaeology and GIS A. Learning from the Case One interesting example of the application of GIS in landscape archaeology studies has been conducted by Anne Gisiger of the University of Arkansas in her thesis entitled "A Spatial Analysis of Regional Human Adaptation Patterns Using Continental-Scale Data" (Gisiger 1996), by applying the Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) GIS software developed by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (GERL). Through a mega-scale GIS analysis of the Central Great Plains region of the United States, Gisiger successfully reconstructed the spatial relationships between environmental variables such as flow patterns, elevation distribution, vegetation and grass growth cycles, average temperature changes between summer and winter, and drought indices, with changes in settlement patterns and adaptation patterns of wild bull hunters and hunter-gatherer-gardeners in the Central Great Plains. This study applied the overlay method to a number of thematic maps (see figure 3,4,5, among others), then analyzed the spatial relationship between observed variables, performed weighting and spatial-joint processing of attribute data, and time-series spatial modeling. AMELIA ROSE SMITH 11 Amelia Rose Smith Figure 3. Flow Patterns in the Central Great Plains Figure 4. Natural Vegetation Potential of the Central Great Plains AMELIA ROSE SMITH 12 Article Study Case Figure 5. Results of Analysis of Natural Vegetation Variables and Flow Patterns in the Central Great Plains Another application of GIS can be done in meso-scale landscape archaeology studies, including sites with the character of the surrounding environment. One example was conducted in the area of. Rush, Arkansas, by The Arkansas Archaeological Survey. Limp, for example, using GRASS GIS software, revisited the anthropological concept of catchment area. The Rush area, located near the Buffalo River, is a valley area surrounded by high and steep cliffs. The previous model, which defined catchment areas as concentric regions with one site at the center, was no longer appropriate. In an effort to produce a model that better suited the local terrain, Limp applied a buffer system to create multiple levels of area. The results showed that the catchment area was not concentric, but rather extended along the river valley. The correlation between AMELIA ROSE SMITH 13 Amelia Rose Smith the catchment area and prehistoric vegetation data shows that the prehistoric communities at the site relied heavily on a mixed diet of agricultural products and forest food sources. Currently, the author, together with the 2005 Plaosan Temple Complex excavation team, is completing meso-scale spatial data processing to see the correlation between temple buildings, ancient canals, and hydrological data on the distribution of ancient wells around Plaosan. Analysis is also carried out on the flow patterns of the rivers around Plaosan (based on 1:25,000 scale Earth Map and 1:20,000 scale Aerial Photography), the results of excavations, and the results of the geohydrological survey in 2003. Several spatial analyses conducted with ArcView GIS and ArcGIS software will be used to address the paleohydrological system of the Plaosan canal in relation to the surrounding landscape and the distribution of ancient wells, which typologically have several shapes and sizes. Another example is macro-scale archaeological-landscape studies, which cover an area of approximately 100-1000 km2. Allen and Hasenstab, for example, applied this spatial scale to analyze prehistoric Iroquois occupation patterns, and revealed that Iroquoian communities chose to locate their villages in areas suitable for maize cultivation. In addition to looking at the distribution of sites and landscape elements, they also analyzed climatic variables and processed them with GIS facilities. In another case, Allen applied the vector-based ARC/Info GIS program to analyze the trade system that took place in the river networks of the eastern Great Lakes region, between the mid-XVI -XVIII centuries AD. Through his modeling, Allen was able to discover new locations that played a role in the trade networks of the time. There is also archaeological and historical evidence to suggest that by 1550, a number of European commodities had already reached Native American settlements. The South Carolina of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) in collaboration with the Earth Sciences and Resources Institute of the University of South Carolina (ESRIUSC) offers another interesting example. This joint project developed 'predictive models' for locating archaeological sites in South Carolina through GIS programming. The data required included: a) linear hydrography (to plot permanent water sources}, b) hypsography (to identify topographic variations), and c) floodplains. By analyzing satellite imagery, digital orthophotos, topographic maps, and the results of creating a Digital Elevation Model (OEM), 78 sites were found. AMELIA ROSE SMITH 14 Article Study Case GIS also opens up the possibility of addressing inter-temporal cases in landscape archaeology through the development of extensive cultural data analysis methods. Johnson and Wilson cited the creation of the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI), with ArcView GIS and ArcExplorer software operated over the internet. The key issues developed were the recording of time-based cultural features, the development of interfaces to display time-based maps, and the creation of animated maps. The result is a set of data sets, map layers, selected criteria, symbolizations, and spatial-temporal cases of cultural data accessed. B. Responding to the Diversity of Study Scale Many scholars agree that patterns of human adaptation are influenced by various environmental phenomena at specific spatial and temporal scales (Butzer 1987). Adaptation to drought, for example, cannot be identified through a shorter time frame of observation than the drought cycle. In other cases, the source (origin) of trade goods cannot be identified if the trade in goods takes place at a spatial scale that is broader than the area studied. Therefore, to fully analyze human adaptation in a landscape, an approach at the right spatial and temporal scales is required. Among the four spatial scales as classified by Delcourt and Delcourt (1988, in Gisiger 1996), namely micro, meso, macro and mega scales, landscape archaeology deals more with meso to mega scales. This requires a level of map fidelity and a level of image spatial resolution appropriate to each scope, as the representation of each element on the map is influenced by scale. This kind of thing in cartography is related to generalization, which is an effort to select and simplify map elements, both geometrically and conceptually. Geometric generalization includes selection, simplification of shape, removal, exaggeration or enlargement, and removal of elements due to enlargement. While conceptual generalization is in the form of classification of certain elements, which is usually only known by people who master the subject to be mapped. For example, at a scale of 1:50,000 there are 20 types of soil, if it is reduced to 1:100,000, grouping of the 20 types of soil must be done so that the number of types is reduced. No single topographic map scale is appropriate for all levels of observation, nor is the use of aerial photographs. Scales of 1:2,500 - 1:10,000 are suitable for detailed identification of vegetation, landuse, and micro-geomorphic features, but are too large AMELIA ROSE SMITH 15 Amelia Rose Smith for review-scale geological and geomorphological analyses that require analysis of relationships between elements over large areas. Aerial photographs at a scale of 1:15,000-1:35,000 are generally suitable for observing elevation differences and some minor landscape features. Scales smaller than 1:35,000 are best suited for observing regional patterns. Flow patterns, for example, which indirectly reflect the topographic conditions (level of land slope), lithological conditions, and geologic structure of an area, are easily delineated with aerial photographs of this scale. The use of satellite imagery also provides many advances for landscape archaeology studies. Especially with the availability of various types of image sensors that are relatively easy to access. As in the determination of the scale of maps and aerial photographs, the suitability of the image resolution level to the scope of the study area also needs to be considered. At the meso-scale study at the city level, for example, Quickbird Pankromatic (0.61m spatial resolution) or IKONOS Pankromatic (0.83m resolution) satellite imagery should be used, while Landsat MMS imagery with 80m spatial resolution is more suitable for regional (macro) level studies. There are many other remote sensing products that can be applied, ranging from Small Format Aerial Photography (SFAP) to hyperspectral images that are flexible to be adapted to the purpose of the observation. Conclusion The generation of new information through the combined processing of multi-thematic spatial data of different formats. Vector-based digital maps, raster-based remote sensing products and location data from GPS receivers can no longer be analyzed together thanks to the availability of GIS facilities. This provides an opportunity to continue existing research projects, as an initial challenge. Consider Mundardjito's dissertation (1993), which accessed data on hundreds of Classic period sites in the Yogyakarta area, including around Prambanan. The success of his ecological analysis will be even more interesting and open up new prospects of study if it is developed towards spatial modeling. For example, to visualize the palaeo-landscape conditions of Yogyakarta and Prambanan during the Classical period in time series. From this visualization, there will be a lot of new information that is impossible to obtain manually. The Network Analyst tool in the ArcView GIS and ArcGIS programs, for example, makes it possible to visualize the transportation network at that time; also the ancient irrigation and sanitation networks; the relationship between road accessibility - the temple hierarchy - and the location of ancient settlement clusters; or even AMELIA ROSE SMITH 16 Article Study Case to answer the issue of disaster ("maha pralaya") which is still a polemic until now. At least to find out which part of the landscape was worst hit by Merapi lava at that time It is also possible to develop "Classical Land Suitability Analysis", a contemporary topic that currently explores the capabilities of GIS the most. AMELIA ROSE SMITH 17 Amelia Rose Smith References AMELIA ROSE SMITH 18 Article Study Case AMELIA ROSE SMITH 19 Amelia Rose Smith AMELIA ROSE SMITH 20