How is visibility important for defence? A GIS analysis of sites in the western Fijian Islands

The analysis of defensive or fortified archaeological sites in the Pacific has a long history, with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approaches applied with increasing frequency. Much of the recent GIS-based research has emphasized views to and from defensive sites and site location relative to...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Archaeology in Oceania. - Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, 1981. - 46(2011), 2, Seite 76-84
1. Verfasser: SMITH, CECILIA (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: COCHRANE, ETHAN E.
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2011
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Archaeology in Oceania
Schlagworte:Social sciences Arts Physical sciences Behavioral sciences Applied sciences Mathematics
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The analysis of defensive or fortified archaeological sites in the Pacific has a long history, with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approaches applied with increasing frequency. Much of the recent GIS-based research has emphasized views to and from defensive sites and site location relative to resources such as agricultural land. We add to this growing body of research with analyses of defensive sites in the western islands of Fiji. Our work is the first quantitative GIS analysis of visibility in the Pacific and examines views to and from sites and the content of those views with statistical comparisons to random background samples. Our results indicate that views of high fertility land were an important consideration in the placement of some defensive sites, but that views of other defensive sites were not important. Additionally, some sites are deliberately placed in areas to obscure their visibility.
ISSN:18344453