Articles by Joan A. Barceló

2013 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

SimulPast: un laboratorio virtual para el análisis de las dinámicas históricas

Jorge Caro Saiz, Débora Zurro, Bernardo Rondelli, Andrea Balbo, Xavier Rubio Campillo, Joan A. Barceló, Ivan Briz i Godino, Joaquim Fort, Marco Madella

Abstract

The use of Computer Simulation for the study of Physics or Biology has its roots in the 1940s. The Social Sciences and Humanities have recently become aware of the heuristic potential computational models have for the study of social dynamics, generating the new field of Social Simulation. Specifically, from the first applications of Computer Simulation to Archaeology, their complementary nature has been proved. Computer Simulation provides an ideal context as a virtual laboratory in which to experiment with dynamic processes and Archaeology provides the possibility of generating information about past social processes, both short and long-term. However, we need to make a profound epistemological and methodological reflection about the nature of this tool and the implications of using it in Archaeology. On this basis, SimulPast aims to develop a theoretical and methodological research platform, which is both innovative and trans-disciplinary. The Project aspires to improve the study of historical, social and ecological dynamics of human societies as well as to stimulate the debate on the scientific research process at large.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 265-281; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.13

2009 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

The birth and historical development of computational intelligence applications in archaeology

Joan A. Barceló

Abstract

Twenty years after the consolidation of a true professional archaeology in search of a "scientific" dream, mathematics and computers made their appearance in the discipline. In the same way, the first essays dealing with "automatic archaeology" appeared in the 1950s, looking for standardization of archaeological description and statistical reasoning, but we had to wait for another 30 years until the appropriate technology was available. At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s, Expert Systems were considered as a true promise towards the independence of archaeological reasoning from subjectivity. Nevertheless, the rise of postmodernism and the radical critique, with its emphasis on subjectivity and situational context of the research effort generated considerable turmoil that, in appearance, buried the dream of an automatic archaeology. Research efforts in these domains of computational intelligence continued, however, especially in the domains of remote sensing and archaeometry. Modern technological developments like 3D scanning are responsible for a revival of interest in computational intelligence methods. Today, we are still far from the early dream of an automatic archaeology, but it is no longer a "nightmare". It is a technological reality that will contribute to a more professional and scientific-based archaeology.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2009, 20, 95-109; doi: 10.19282/ac.20.2009.10

2004 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Tele-archaeology

Joan A. Barceló, Igor Bogdanović, Raquel Piqué

Abstract

Tele-archaeology, in its basic sense, may be defined as the use of telecommunications to provide archaeological information and services. Two different kinds of technology make up most of the tele-archaeology applications in use today. The first is used for transferring information from one location to another. The other is multi-way interactive knowledge distribution. In this paper we examine the possibilities of tele-archaeology, and offer a general framework to implement this technology. The main positive effect of tele-archaeology is the move towards a real 'distributed interactive archaeology', which means that archaeological knowledge building is a collective and dynamic series of tasks and processes. An individual archaeologist cannot fully explain his/her data because the explanatory process needs knowledge as raw material, and this knowledge does not exist in the individual mind of the scientist but in the research community as a global set.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2004, 15, 467-481; doi: 10.19282/ac.15.2004.28

2002 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

The origins of the city. From social theory to archaeological description

Joan A. Barceló, Giuliano Pelfer, Alessandro Mandolesi

Abstract

This paper will focus on the origins of the city. This subject has been studied in sociology, anthropology, history and geography, but there is not a unified approach. Our paper deals with the specific way social theory can be used in archaeology. We consider that a 'city' is a specific form of social space 'produced' by a series of social actions. However, this 'production process' cannot be described easily in archaeological terms. As a result, there is a deep gap between social theory concepts and archaeologically observable evidence. Today it is fashionable to speak about the unscientific nature of Archaeology and Social Science. This paper deals with this discussion, trying to create an observational theory to understand the process of city formation. We reject traditional positivist approaches of concept and reference, because of its simplicity. However, this fact does not mean that the analysis is impossible in scientific terms. We show how to use spatial statistics, probabilistic modelling and visualization technology in order to obtain a simulation of the spatial process, and then use the resulting model to build a representation of social theory in archaeological terms. In the paper we use the Italian city of Tarquinia as a case study. It is suggested that the origin of the city can be represented as a spatial process beginning with preliminary scattered villages, which join together forming bigger spatial units, which become attractive for the better geographical and geomorphologic conditions. The gradual consolidation of the main settlement in the best location is determined by the population growth, and the development of a new productive system and new social relationships.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2002, 13, 41-63; doi: 10.19282/ac.13.2002.03

2002 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Archaeological thinking: between space and time

Joan A. Barceló

Abstract

The archaeological record can be described using a relevant observable feature: location. Shape, size and other properties vary from one location to another, and sometimes this variation has some appearance of continuity, which should be understood as variation between social actions due to neighbourhood relationships. Time and space are not different ways of considering the nature of archaeological locations. Consequently, 'locations' can only be understood in functional terms, that is, according to what is performed at each place at each moment. In this paper, the objective is to analyse where, when and why a social action varies from one location (temporal-spatial) to another. Some mathematical techniques are presented to calculate the probability of social actions at specific locations, based on the spatial properties of archaeological data. These techniques are used as a representation language for studying the concepts of accumulation and attraction, which allow the study of social space in dynamic terms.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2002, 13, 237-257; doi: 10.19282/ac.13.2002.17

2001 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Virtual reality for archaeological explanation. Beyond "picturesque" reconstruction

Joan A. Barceló

Abstract

In this paper, a general framework for using Virtual Reality techniques in the domain of Archaeological Visualisation is presented. It is argued that “visualising” is not the same as “seeing”, but is an inferential process to understand reality. A definition of Enhanced Reality is also presented, and how visual models can be used in order to obtain additional information about the dynamic nature of historical processes and archaeological data.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2001, 12, 221-244; doi: 10.19282/ac.12.2001.12

1998 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Beyond GIS: The archaeology of social spaces

Joan A. Barceló, Maria Pallarés

Abstract

The growing use and increasing sophistication of GIS methods to manage archaeological data is not related to an increase in diversity of use. After two decades on a trial basis, we evaluate in this paper the current ability of Spanish Archaeological GIS applications to meet the expectations placed upon them, especially concerning their role in archaeological method and theory. The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly, we summarize the main trends in Spanish GIS-based applications over the last years using a sample of the most recent bibliography. Secondly, we critically examine and evaluate the inherent shortcomings of some existing GIS applications, and finally we review different underlying conceptions of space in GIS projects and propose how such a software can be integrated into a proper theory of social space.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1998, 9, 47-80; doi: 10.19282/ac.9.1998.05

1996 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

A critique of G.I.S. in archaeology. From visual seduction to spatial analysis

Joan A. Barceló, Maria Pallarés

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the role of Geographical Information Systems in archaeological research. Currently, some archaeologists seem largely captivated by new computing technologies believing that the sophistication of powerful software outputs will lend respectability by itself. In our opinion GIS is merely a set of techniques to visualise and manage large amounts of georeferenced data. Thus, there must be other tools to move from visualisation to explanation, which fall within the domain of Spatial Analysis. The ultimate aim of this paper is to show how we can integrate these already existing tools (geostatistics, intra-site statistical tests, digital image processing, artificial intelligence, etc.) into a GIS framework, in order to move from beautiful images to hard analysis. Finally, we criticise the lack of a theoretical background in archaeological uses of GIS technology, arguing that GIS is only a software and may benefit our research only if we use well defined archaeological problems on a well-based theory.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 313-326; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.26

1993 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Automatic problem-solving in archaeology: a computational framework

Joan A. Barceló

Abstract

In this paper I have tried to build a computational theory. In other words, a “theory” implemented in a computer program. When using a computational theory we try to solve scientific problems, that is to say, we do not retrieve data units, but we “instantiate” a solution for the problem. I have formalised the concept of an “archaeological problem” in the following way: how is an artefact (or set of artefacts) used by a community in a specific context. The task is then to evaluate the social uses of a specific set of artefacts (Final Situation or State) in terms of: a) their description, and b) all information available about the social, cultural or chronological context and about the human community who produced those artefacts (Initial Situation or State).We may then represent problem solving knowledge as a list of discrete and closed units. Those declarative units are successive states of the problem. We substitute equations for explicit sets of propositions. We can implement a set of answers and a set of decision rules for each one. The resulting program looks like a complex database and not like a mathematical procedure, and we may consider the problem-solving mechanism as a sequential search in a preexisting problem space, using a finite number of particular decision rules. Some interesting work has been done in mathematical representation of archaeological theories, but such approaches have not been very successful, maybe because social sciences cannot be exclusively represented by mathematical models, or because archaeologists are incapable to communicate between themselves using mathematical expressions. As a consequence, archaeologists tend to express their theories by means of linguistic sentences, which is inadequate, given the fact that natural language obstructs objectivity. A representation in terms of logical propositions appears then as the best representation tool available to build social theories. Artificial Intelligence scientists are now exploring this possibility. In this paper I propose an analogy between the structure of archaeological (and social sciences) theories and the mechanism of Turing Machines: given some empirical data (observation of the archaeological record) and a knowledge-base (constituted by high-level concepts and their middle-range correlates), we have to explain the particular case (the archaeological record) by means of the knowledge-base (the theory). The logical mechanism is modus ponens.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 61-80