| Department of Anthropology | |||||
| UB Anthropology GIS Laboratory |
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Kerkenes Dag Project, Turkey:
The Kerkenes Dag is a low granitic mountain in central Turkey which has been identified with the sacred Hittite Mount Daha. The Kerkenes Project is using a combination of techniques to plan the remains of the city, to study the urban dynamics, and to examine human impact on the surrounding region from early prehistoric times to the end of the Iron Age. Remote Sensing is used to provide a detailed overview of the city. In 2002 the project was granted a full excavation permit by the Turkish government, thanks to the efforts of the Anthropology Department at UB in providing Dr.
Summers with an adjunct appointment. The site itself is a very large (271ha in size) Late Iron Age site located in central Turkey, and was first the subject of
excavations by
the University of Chicago in the 1920's. The present team has been at work at
the site since 1993, and in that time we have established ourselves at the
cutting edge
of geophysical and near remote sensing applications within archaeology. The
site is a major city of its time, with a seven and a half kilometer circuit of
stone city wall
and glacis that would have risen to a hight of upwards of seven meters.
Questions that we are in the process of exploring include the historical
background of the
site, the environmental impact of the site on the region, and the political,
social, and economic dynamics that would have been at work within this ancient
city or more
generally within any city.
Geography of Canadian Literacy and Disability: In the autumn of 2001 the University at Buffalo Anthropology GIS lab was granted funding from the Canadian Literacy Secretariat to work in conjunction with colleagues at York University and at the Canadian Abilities Foundation. The purpose of this funding is to create an atlas for the entirety of Canada that depicts detailed statistical information about the relationship between disability and literacy, as well as their related services and supports. This project makes use of several Canadian national surveys including the Health and Activity Limitation Survey, the International Adult Literacy Survey, the National Population Health Survey, and the Census. Additional data sources include the Canadian Abilities Foundation's Directory of Disability Organizations in Canada and the National Adult Literary Database hypertext listing of literacy organizations. In our GIS laboratory, all this data is being brought together and analyzed. Various forms of analysis and data modeling techniques are being used to better understand the relationships between individuals with disabilities, those with literacy issues, and the social and governmental organizations seeking to assist all these individuals. Of particular interest is how these organizations might be better located so as to better serve these individuals. At the end of the project all the information produced will be combined into a three hundred plus page atlas and presented to the Canadian government, where it will have direct implications for social policy development as well as be useful in identifying specific areas where more services and supports are needed. Fieldwork and Anthropology GIS Laboratory Project at Verberie : 2002 saw the begging of a long-term collaborative project with French archaeologist Francoise Audouze using data from the site of Verberie, France. Verberie is a late Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian site within the Paris Basin. It is one of many seasonal reindeer hunting camps from the same time period in this area. What sets Verberie apart from most of the others is the excellent preservation of archaeological materials and their detailed spatial configuration. Over 25 years of excavation, 10?s of thousands of artifacts from the site, mostly lithics and bone, have been precisely plotted and mapped to a 1cm resolution. We will be using this data to perform a spatial analysis of the site. Using a variety of statistical methods such as cluster analysis and correlation analysis, to define activity areas on the living surfaces of the site, we will investigate the origins of human use of space and the concept of "settlement" itself. CLuster In the Field (CLIF): CLIF is the Anthropology GIS Laboratory's mobile supercomputing project. During 2002 work was begun on the design and construction of a prototype of a mobile solar powered supercomputer for field research. With this system we are hoping to narrow the divide between the power of computer systems available on-campus and those that are available when someone is away from campus doing field work. Our goal is to reach a stage where, rather than collecting all the data in the field and then returning to the US to analyze the data through models and simulations, we could actually do full analysis of the data in the field. This could eliminate the unfortunate occurrence of suddenly realizing during the winter that you did not collect a crucial piece of data, and then needing to return to the field the next year to collect it. Instead, the output from the analysis would provide real-time feedback as the collection is taking place, and would allow a researcher much more flexibility in their field research designs. So if anyone happens to pass by the chilled water plant at UB and sees the gleam of sunlight reflecting off solar panels, you will now know what lies beneath.
AwardsGrants ReceivedInterdisciplinary Research and Creative Activities Fund (IRCAF) Planning Grant - Awarded to the Anthropology GIS Laboratory for 2003.The IRCAF planning grant is awarded by the University at Buffalo Vice President for Research. It is intended to support and facilitate the formation of collaborations and the exploration of innovative ideas that will open new directions in research and enhance the intellectual environment of the University at Buffalo. Canadian-American Studies Research Grant - Awarded to Wendy Miller and Susan Maguire in Spring 2003, and to Wendy Miller in Fall 2002.The Canadian-America Studies Committee at UB invites proposals for projects and activities that are designed to encourage and promote increased awareness and understanding at UB of Canada and of relations between Canada and the United States. These grants are possible because of funding provided by the Canadian Studies Gran Program of the Canadia Embassy in Washington, DC, and by the College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo. 2002 Subcontract to Abilities Foundation Development of Grassroots Disability GIS for Web Based Access GIS with primary contract to Human Resources Development Canada Office of Disabilities. 2002(PI) A Planning Grant for an International Comparison of Disability and Human Rights with Ms. Nina Cascio, Dr. Don Pollock, Dr. Munroe Eagles, Dr. Jeffrey Higginbotham, Dr. Rosemary Lubinski, Dr. David Mark, Mr.Scott Branting, and MS.Wendy Miller. 2003-2001 Geography of Canadian Literacy and Disability with Ray Cohen Canadian Abilities Foundationand Marcia Rioux York University. *2003-1998 Co-Pi IGERT Grant $2,600,000 |