A computational perspective on the dynamics of early architecture

IF 0.9 2区历史学 0 ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeological Research in Asia Pub Date : 2024-11-21 DOI:10.1016/j.ara.2024.100571

Hadas Goldgeier , Antoine Muller , Leore Grosman

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Changes and variation in the shape of architectural remains have often been tied to changes in social structure and organization, demography, hierarchy, subsistence, mobility and more. While there is an immeasurable amount of architectural data collection, there are no agreed upon standards for documentation and analysis. Here we present for the first time an objective and repeatable method for quantifying and comparing structure forms, in an attempt to shed new light on questions of architectural dynamics. Our case study is the Neolithization process in the Near East, traditionally regarded as a change from rounded to rectangular forms. We digitize building outlines from published plan drawings and objectively quantify their two-dimensional morphology via the directionality of the normal vectors and minimum angles. This pilot study includes a sample of 118 structures deriving from 23 sites in the Mediterranean region and Jordan Valley of the southern Levant. Our results show that there is considerably more variability than can be subsumed in the traditional ‘round to rectangular’ scheme of architectural development. We identify construction of right angles as early as the Natufian and show that early architecture throughout the Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A is less restricted by formal conventions. On the other hand, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, variability is more constrained, potentially suggesting a codification of architectural norms.

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从计算角度看早期建筑的动态变化

建筑遗迹形状的变化和变异往往与社会结构和组织、人口、等级制度、生计、流动性等方面的变化有关。虽然建筑数据收集的数量不可估量，但却没有一致认可的记录和分析标准。在这里，我们首次提出了一种量化和比较结构形式的客观且可重复的方法，试图为建筑动态问题提供新的启示。我们的案例研究是近东的新石器化过程，传统上被认为是从圆形向矩形的转变。我们从已出版的平面图中对建筑轮廓进行数字化，并通过法向量的方向性和最小角度对其二维形态进行客观量化。这项试点研究包括来自南黎凡特地中海地区和约旦河谷 23 个遗址的 118 个建筑样本。我们的研究结果表明，传统的 "从圆形到矩形 "的建筑发展计划所能涵盖的变异性要大得多。我们发现早在纳图菲时代就有直角建筑，并表明整个纳图菲时代和陶器前新石器时代 A 的早期建筑受形式惯例的限制较少。另一方面，在前陶器新石器时代 B 期，建筑的可变性受到更多限制，这可能暗示着建筑规范的编纂。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archaeological Research in Asia ARCHAEOLOGY-

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

13.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archaeological Research in Asia presents high quality scholarly research conducted in between the Bosporus and the Pacific on a broad range of archaeological subjects of importance to audiences across Asia and around the world. The journal covers the traditional components of archaeology: placing events and patterns in time and space; analysis of past lifeways; and explanations for cultural processes and change. To this end, the publication will highlight theoretical and methodological advances in studying the past, present new data, and detail patterns that reshape our understanding of it. Archaeological Research in Asia publishes work on the full temporal range of archaeological inquiry from the earliest human presence in Asia with a special emphasis on time periods under-represented in other venues. Journal contributions are of three kinds: articles, case reports and short communications. Full length articles should present synthetic treatments, novel analyses, or theoretical approaches to unresolved issues. Case reports present basic data on subjects that are of broad interest because they represent key sites, sequences, and subjects that figure prominently, or should figure prominently, in how scholars both inside and outside Asia understand the archaeology of cultural and biological change through time. Short communications present new findings (e.g., radiocarbon dates) that are important to the extent that they reaffirm or change the way scholars in Asia and around the world think about Asian cultural or biological history.