Articles by Armando De Guio

This paper presents the combined use of UAV-derived Digital Elevation Models, optical and IR imaging and multispectral satellite images to produce a (micro)topographic survey of the proto-historic village of Bostel, in the municipality of Rotzo (province of Vicenza, Italy). It aims to improve our knowledge of the structural organization of the site. Different vegetation indices were calculated from the multiband images to enhance the grass and soil-marks in open field, allowing the identification of buried structures. Close-range images were acquired with a commercial DJI Phantom 2 and a customized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), equipped with both high-resolution digital and IR cameras. Structure from Motion was used on the acquired data to create digital elevation models (DEM) of sample areas, which were enhanced by using different data visualization techniques. Remote sensing analyses were then combined with fieldwork data, producing a complex environmental model. The houses found during the excavations seem to be embedded in a framework of structures for the sake of space organization, defense and control. Moreover, the presence of a dense network of terraces and buildings, running right up to the south-eastern ridge of the promontory, confirms the existence of an intense human occupation of the entire area.

This paper focuses on a survey of the Predictive Archaeology domain, including a review of its key developments since the 1960s. A working and minimalist definition of Predictive Archaeology (P) - which becomes Preventive Archaeology in its application, that is, when it is expressed through the quantification of the risk of archaeological impact - may be that of a prediction technique for locating archaeological sites in terra incognita, based on a sample of known sites (terra cognita) or on assumptions about human location/allocation behavior in the past. A prospective view of possible short-term evolutionary scenarios is also illustrated.

This paper proposes a predictive theoretical model of ancient human movement in the Alpone Valley (VR). The aim of this study is to calculate, using GIS tools, the optimal pathways to move from an archaeological site to another considering a series of frictions, like topography or land use, that can affect movement. The reliability of these virtual ancient paths is tested using a mathematical function of metabolic energy created in Visual Basic editor: it facilitates the choice of the best frictions for the model to simulate the archaeological landscape and its possible human perception. The results are compared to verify if there is any correlation between present and past pathways using topographic maps. This GIS methodology is useful for an archaeological survey because it gives a preliminary presence probability of ancient paths in a landscape.

The paper identifies a number of possible developments in archaeology in the ’90s. The epigenetic panorama is seen as evolving in three major directions, which are termed, ironically, “pie archaeology”, “ambush archaeology” and “glove archaeology”. This latter direction, an emerging but still undefined area at the critical interface between archaeological theory and Artificial Intelligence, is identified as the most promising for the near future, particularly since it may unblock the impasse which hinders theoretical development. This “pipe-dream” is discussed with reference to the Anglo-Italian field-survey project, the “Progetto Alto-Medio Polesine-Basso Veronese”, where an attempt is being made to put theory into practice