Archaeobotany in the 4th Dimension: Visualising Specialist Data in a 3D GIS

Abstract: Archaeobotany and GIS are closely linked with archaeology, it is hard to imagine a modern archaeological investigation without them. The two appear to complement each other. GIS links highly complex sets of data with space, and offers a range of analytical tools. Archaeobotanists look for patterns in data over time and space to interpret human behaviour. Yet GIS is underused in archaeobotany. There is a gap between the capabilities of GIS and how it is used by archaeobotanists. With GIS moving into the next dimension, this gap will grow. The problem conceivably stems from the fact that results of archaeobotanical analyses are devoid of spatial data. This thesis develops a methodology in which archaeobotanical data are reunited with location within a 3D GIS. Using material from the 2016 and 2017 excavations at Uppåkra, a 3D GIS was built. It incorporates newly created 3D objects which contain archaeobotanical data. A case study was used to revisit an investigation into Iron Age beer brewing at Uppåkra. The use of 2D GIS in the original study was critically assessed. The new methodology was then used to visualise archaeobotanical data in 4D. Visualising the data in this way opens new perspectives, widens the scope of investigation and shifts focus from viewing single plant types to the whole assemblage. The thesis concludes with a theoretical discussion about how this methodology could affect future research, considerations to be taken into account and how it fits within a reflexive approach to archaeology.