The Tempo-Spatial Analysis of Formation Process of Regionality in The Prehistory: Case Study in Southern Region of China

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18545
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 4:Geography, cultural anthropology, folklore, and related fields
• Research Institution: Chubu University
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Nobuya 中部大学, 人文学部, 准教授 (10365497)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 西江 清高 南山大学, 人文学部, 研究員 (10319288)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 地理情報科学 / 考古学 / 地域形成 / ネットワーク / ABS、ABM / GIS / 先史社会

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The formation of regionality in southern China is considered to be an action of interaction among the small groups of people which they habitat dispersedly. Thus, method which is capable to analyze the dynamics of interaction is considered to be advantageous for the case. TIN and Least Cost Path(LCP) analysis with GIS and Agent Based Simulation (ABS) were utilized to tackle this problem. The study enabled the observation of tangible process of interaction (trade of information) among the settlement pattern, which is presumed to be the base of formation of regionality. Additionally, new perspectives and insights, for example, how the accumulation patterns of information may be affected by the difference in extent of knowledge the agents have (i.e. whether they know the full structure of the network or not), were gained through the modeling process and the implementation of simulation.

Free Research Field

地理情報科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究を通して、例えば文化圏とその変化のような形で、包括的な空間の枠組み、断続的な時間変化として捉えられてきた先史社会の地域形成について、空間面の動的変化を分析するための方法論を提案した。特にGISとABSを組み合わせる事で、空間的側面からみた集団形成のメカニズムについて、実験的に条件を様々に組み替えて観察・分析する事が可能となる。予察的ではあるが、特に情報が少なく断片的な先史時代研究において、連続性のある動態を観察するための方法論とその可能性を示したものである。