Digital Archaeology Sessions at the Brazilian Archaeological Society Congress

Our colleagues in Brazil are planning two sessions on digital archaeology at the Brazilian Archaeological Society Congress (Teresina, 10-15 September). So if you working in or with South American archaeology, this may be of interest. Note the close deadline: 7th of July. For more information see below or get in touch with Grégoire van Havre (gvanhavre at gmail dot com).

Image source: wikipedia.org

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Call for Papers - Brazilian Archaeology Society Congress

The Brazilian Archaeology Society will meet in Teresina (Brazil) in September 10-15, and there are two session proposals (yes, two!) dedicated to computers and digital archaeology. Check out the official website for more details (in Portuguese): http://www.sab2017.com.br. The call for papers was extended to July, 7.

Both sessions are calls to gather computer archaeologists from around the country, as well as people from abroad working in Southern American contexts, and discuss experiences and problems.

1. Computer resources for archaeology: from excavation to data analysis
2. IPads in the Trenches: Digital Archaeology in Brazil - where are we?

This will be the first time digital archaeology and computer matters will be directly addressed in a national congress in Brazil.

Call for Papers: Computer Applications in Archaeology, Oslo, March 29 – April 2 2016

The folks at CAA have issued a call for papers for next year’s conference in Oslo. The conference theme is Exploring Oceans of Data, befitting the maritime heritage of the host city. There are a number of exciting sessions planned, including a one organised by we, your friendly neighborhood SimulatingComplexiteers:

Can You Model That? Applications of Complex Systems Simulation to Explore the Past

The large scale patterns that we commonly detect in the archaeological record are often not a simple sum of individual human interactions. Instead, they are a complex interwoven network of dependencies among individuals, groups, and the environment in which individuals live. Tools such as Agent-based Modelling, System Dynamics Models, Network Analysis and Equation-based Models are instrumental in unravelling some of this network and shedding light on the dynamic processes that occurred in the past. In this session we invite case studies using computational approaches to understand past societies. This session will showcase the innovative ways archaeologists have used simulation and other model building techniques to understand the interactions between individuals and their social and natural environments. The session will also provide a platform to discuss both the potential and the limitations of computational modelling in archaeology and to highlight the range of possible applications.

There are also a number of other amazing looking sessions. Here’s just a few:

• Networking the past: Towards best practice in archaeological network science
• Using GIS Modeling to Solve Real-World Archaeological Problems
• Exploring Maritime Spaces with Digital Archaeology: Modelling navigation, seascapes, and coastal spaces
• Analyzing Social Media & Online Culture in Archaeology
• Modelling approaches to analyse the socio-economic context in archaeology II: defining the limits of production
• Computational approaches to ancient urbanism: documentation, analysis and interpretation

Personally, I can’t think of a better way to spend a few days than talking computers and archaeology in lovely Oslo. For more information or to submit an abstract, visit the CAA conference website.

The Conference on Complex Systems, Tempe, Arizona (28 Sept – 2 Oct)

This year the (European) Conference on Complex System is going global (by loosing the ‘E’) and moving to the Tempe, Arizona (28 Sept – 2 Oct). It is also the most archaeo/anthropo/history-filled edition yet. The satellite sessions include:

Complexity and Human Past: Unleashing the Potential of Archaeology and Related Disciplines

The Cultural Evolution of Technology: Evidence, Hypothesis and Theory

Evolution of Ancient Maya Society as a Complex System

Complexity History, Complexity for History and History for Complexity

Plus there is a good selection of social science focused sessions which should be of interest to archaeologists. Follow this link for more details. The abstract deadline is TODAY so get it in there asap.

Keep the MODELLING revolution going! CAA2015, Siena

The CAA (Computing Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology) conference has always been the number one destination for archaeological modellers of all sorts. The motto of the next meeting (to be held in lovely Siena, Italy! 30/03-5/04 2014) is ‘Keep the revolution going‘ and given the outstanding presence of simulation, complexity and modelling last year in Paris, I thought it will be a tall order.
Fear no more! The revolution keeps on going with a number of hands-on workshops and sessions on modelling scheduled for Siena. From modelling dispersals to network application complexity science is well represented. What is, perhaps, worth particular attention is the roundtable: Simulating the Past: Complex Systems Simulation in Archaeology which aims to sketch out the current place within the discipline and the future direction of simulation in archaeology. It’s also a call for a formation of a CAA Special Interest Group in Complex Systems Simulation (more about it soon). Follow the links to the abstracts for more details.

The call for papers is now open (deadline: 20 November). Follow this link to submit: http://caaconference.org/program/ .

Sessions:

5L Modelling large-scale human dispersals: data, pattern and process

Michael Maerker, Christine Hertler, Iza Romanowska

5A Modelling approaches to analyse the socio-economic context in archaeology

Monica De Cet, Philip Verhagen

5H Geographical and temporal network science in archaeology

Tom Brughmans, Daniel Weidele

Roundtable

RT5 Simulating the Past: Complex Systems Simulation in Archaeology

Iza Romanowska, Joan Anton Barceló

Workshops

WS8 First steps in agent-based modelling with Netlogo

Iza Romanowska, Tom Brughmans, Benjamin Davies

WS5 Introduction to exploratory network analysis for archaeologists using Visone

Daniel Weidele, Tom Brughmans

 

Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siena5.jpg