Multiplicity and Path Dependency in the Modeling of Historical Routes: A Case Study of the Wonju Basin in the Central Region of the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

This article introduces how an interdisciplinary approach to modeling historical routes enriches route formation discourses. It combines the current least cost path-based modeling with a novel method developed by the authors, which employs hillslope position-based movement suitability as the primary cost factor to supplement slope gradient. Multiple routes can be modeled by using differently weighted combinations of the two cost factors, but for this study, three different routes were modeled for the case region, the Wonju Basin of the central Korean Peninsula, using archaeological site data roughly categorized into six time periods. By modeling the three different routes for each period, six time slices of movement were produced, and overlapping route sections were identified by superimposing the time slices. The results highlighted the multiplicity of routes, often overlooked when only the most optimal single route is modeled. Diachronic modeling also illustrated how route formation over time was influenced by self-enforcing processes, thereby illuminating path dependency. Guided by complex systems theory, this article provides insights into how the emergence of routes can be approached as both a physical and human spatial phenomenon.