Using Commemorative Text Locations and Least Cost Path Analysis to Perform Predictive Site Modelling for Iron Age Fortress Sites in Armenia

 Hello everyone! Welcome back! 

I wanted to share a super cool project I've been working on. 

Unfortunately, the links are not interactive in this poster image, but are clickable below:

Background: https://vimeo.com/473097323

Methods: https://vimeo.com/473097585

Results: https://vimeo.com/473097139

Discussion: https://vimeo.com/473097700

Thanks for stopping by!

-The Migrant Isotopist

The Journey to Berlin (finished link)

**Update April 2022** Google is no longer supporting this site with access to Google Sheet docs. I will try to find a work around. Until then, this link unfortunately no longer works**

Hello! Welcome back!

I was waiting to post the finished version of The Journey to Berlin until after I presented it at the student symposium at my university, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 and then time slipped by and I completely spaced it. 

But here it is! Follow the link below to access the interactive project!

The Journey to Berlin

Enjoy!

The Migrant Isotopist

The Journey to Berlin - Progress Report 2

Hello all! Welcome back!

This week I wanted to provide a progress report of my project.

If you recall, last week was slow going, but my amazing mother sent me a new laptop! Well, unfortunately, there was some issue with it, so I had to return it after a couple days. The good news is, I still didn’t receive a working ArcGIS code, so I moved on to plan B.

I started looking at the Visualeyes.org visualization tool and Tableau. Tableau didn’t appear to be the right format for my project, so I spent a few hours trying to navigate my way through Visualeyes. Frustration after frustration, I called it quits after five or six hours and did something else. Well, finally, I picked it back up again a couple days later and I am pleased to say I have made PROGRESS!!!

I have dots on a map that appear when they are supposed to! I have created sections in the story part with some words on the screen! This project is no where near complete yet, but I am so happy that it is finally beginning to materialize!!! 

So, to break this down a bit, here’s what I have been able to accomplish: Within the map, I have created the overlay of the medieval trade route map with the basemap and georeferenced. I then created the timeline at the bottom of the screen. I have created a star to highlight where Berlin is. I have created a “dot” for each individual and their timeline according to when they were dated by the excavation team. I also created multiple “chapters” in the storyline. On the image below (sorry for the really poor quality - it was a phone pic of my computer that has been copied), the story that is visible is Berlin. This section will eventually talk about the known historical background of Berlin's earliest years. Other “chapters” I have included is an overall background page, a page about isotope analysis, and a page for each individual. I will have more information about some of the individuals than the others, but I feel that each person should get a voice in this project.

Visualeyes.org uses a google sheet to organize its data. Every input in the program you need to save to the sheet and then save the program. This is cool, but also frustrating. I have found that for some reason, it doesn’t always save and I have to enter something a few times before its stays put. I have found that waiting a few minutes sometimes helps, but in one specific occasion, the only way it would save properly was by me adding it manually to the google sheet.

Even though this isn’t exactly how I wanted the project to go, it will create a really cool visualization that will help me explain my research to my dissertation committee/and the general public. I still plan to go forward for my dissertation using ArcGIS tools as it will be more precise than what this program can allow for, but this is a really good plan B and I am looking forward to seeing the final product.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit!

-The Migrant Isotopist

The Journey to Berlin: Identifying Migrant Routes - Progress Report 1

Hello all! Welcome back.


This week I will be providing an update on the progress of my digital project! If I had to create an abstract for the work right now, this is what it would look like:


The Journey to Berlin: Identifying Migrant Routes.

Berlin, the capital of Germany, was founded sometime during the Medieval Period. Its exact settlement date is unknown, as is information surrounding its earliest years. Bioarchaeology has helped shed some light on this issue. Skeletons from the cemetery of St. Peter’s church, also known as Petriplatz, were excavated and isotope analysis was performed on some of earliest burials (n=13). The combination of oxygen and strontium isotope analysis allowed for an estimation of region of origin for the potential founders of the city. This project furthers that study by mapping in ArcGIS the potential regions of origin for seven of the individuals. In addition to this, it was hypothesized that migrants moved along known trade routes. A Medieval period trade route map overlays the country and Network analysis identifies the most likely route for each individual. The combination of isotope analysis, historical records, and digital tools like ArcGIS and StoryMaps works to interpret and visualize the data in a way that is largely absent from work by Anthropologists and Historians alike. 


Since I am in the earliest stages of developing this project, the title and abstract are works-in-progress. As mentioned, I am currently using ArcGIS StoryMaps as my visualization platform. So far, I’m not overly impressed with the site, but I am also on a learning curve, so time will tell (the issues are most likely user error). To be as transparent in my work this week as possible, this is what has been accomplished. Unlike many of my classmates, my primary data source comes from isotope analysis from the skeletons I researched for my Master’s thesis, rather than literary historical documents. I do have historical contextual information I plan to incorporate into the storytelling aspect of the presentation. Anyhow, I was able to create an account for the StoryMap page, and then spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to think of a title. Ha. I’m happy with it so far. I then played around a bit with the site and the layout options and was able to upload a few images so I can work on the storytelling at the end of the project. I was able to upload the δ¹⁸O map of Germany, the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr map of Germany, and the map identifying the likely region of origin for the seven individuals, all that I created in ArcGIS. The next step is to upload then georeference the Medieval trade route map. I have practiced some with georeferencing to refresh my memory of how to do it, but I’ll need to do it again in the upcoming week.


Not everything has been smooth sailing. I no longer had access to ArcGIS desktop on my personal computer (and even if I did, it would crash it). I also didn’t have access to the program in the classroom lab. I did find some computers on campus that had the most recent ArcGIS software; however, when I started to work with my data, the old basemaps that I had used that were attached to all my data, are no longer available. After a really rough day of feeling defeated, I came home to a HUGE surprise. My mom sent me a new laptop with upgraded capabilities than my previous one (thanks mom!!), so I am now in the process of getting the new software on this computer and will be back at the project soon. 


This project is an exploratory model. If it works out, more or less, in the way that I envision, I plan to incorporate aspects of this into my dissertation research. So, while 13 individuals is definitely not a large sample size, it provides me the knowledge of how to do the work and then implement it in a project for 250+ individuals. At least, that’s the plan. Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit!



-The Migrant Isotopist

Environmental Scan: Doing my research

Hello all! Welcome back.

This week I will be talking more about my project and how it fits within other digital history projects, but also creates its own sort of niche.

Let’s rewind a bit. The last couple weeks I have been discussing my project through Bill Ferster’s ASSERT model. I will not repeat all of that, but I do want to restate what my project is so that way you (the reader) can see how it fits within the realm of digital history projects I list below.

My question I plan to investigate is What were the likely routes that migrants used to travel to this location before they died. Some historical context is needed. For my Master’s degree, I investigated where the potential founders of Berlin migrated from. So, for this project, I will utilize the maps that I created in GIS that show potential region of origin of these settlers based upon their oxygen and strontium isotope values. (I use words like potential, because we cannot be 100% certain that people came from an exact location, but used together, multiple isotopes can narrow down to different regions that would have the same isotopic signatures). Anyhow, for this project I will add a layer in GIS to include a Medieval trade route map. I hypothesize that migrants would have been more likely to travel along known routes to get to what would become Berlin, rather than creating a whole new path. I envision using ArcGIS’s least-cost analysis to determine which route would have been most likely. I plan to represent this (if possible) by illustrating the individuals as dots/or other icon beginning in their region of origin and following their most likely path. I will include the little information I have about the individuals to tell something of their story.   

Before I can start working on this, I need to create what digital historians call an Environmental Scan. This is similar to a literature review, except instead of finding articles on similar research, relevant digital projects need to be found. While this exercise only required three, I have included five that are worth mentioning.

1.      https://www.isoarch.eu/ IsoArcH: An open access and collaborative isotope database for bioarchaeological samples, is a digital project in progress. I have previously reached out to the project director, Dr. Kevin Salesse, for information on how to download their datasets into GIS. This site is a wonderful concept and I really hope it continues to grow in the future.  While this project isn’t so much a digital history project, it does lay the foundations for combining isotope analysis with GIS methodologies. Their work will prove to be valuable for me (and I’m sure many others as their database grows) as I progress through my doctoral dissertation.

  

2.      http://migrationmapping.org/  Migration Mapping and the M2Lab:

This project was created by Dr. Sumita Chakravarty with support from The New School. This project focuses on tying together media (in a number of formats) and migration. The M2Lab is an artistic take on migrant storytelling. Their dataset page brings the viewer to different media representations of migrants and clicking on the links will direct you to an external website. The M2Lab is a more appropriate comparison, if you will, to my own research; however, the M2Lab is more modern with stories being told by the migrants themselves or their immediate family.

  

3.      https://www.englandsimmigrants.com/ Englands immigrants from 1350-1550

This website is a really interesting project. It provides information of actual people who migrated to England between 1350-1550. Demographic information is provided as well as any documents about them (example: letters of protection for John Boyter, 1335). While I don’t have this sort of specific information about the settlers of Berlin, it is interesting that someone was able to create this sort of database and make it an interesting and useful project for anyone who is searching for migrants that from specific regions outside of England to their final resting place (place of residence in England is also identified).

4.      http://internationalschooltoulouse.net/vs/pilgrims/index.htm  Medieval Pilgrimage IST

This site isn’t exactly useful for mapping “my” migrants, but it does illustrate mapping of Pilgrimage routes (something that is useful for my dissertation research). This site is also more of an educational overview than it is a digital history project per se, but I think that it is still relevant in the grander scheme of things, as it is historical, addresses hypothetical routes traveled, and provides additional sources of information that help trace and understand mobility in the past.

5.      https://sarahemilybond.com/2017/02/02/the-itinerarium-egeriae-mapping-egerias-pilgrimage-on-candlemas/ 

      This site is a blog created by Dr. Sarah Bond who is in progress of creating geospatial relationships of women in ancient history with historical documents. While this project focuses on women and ancient texts, it is a great visual representation of another example of what can be mapped utilizing GIS historically.

      

      These projects are both similar to and different from my project. I have highlighted a project that has focused on each component of my research, isotope data through IsoArcH.eu, migrant storytelling through the M2Lab, migrant mapping and storytelling though Englands Immigrants, mapping pilgrimage routes from Medieval Pilgrimage IST, and the GIS mapping of historical texts. I believe that my digital history project fits neatly within this group, combining the different methodologies into one project.

      Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit.

       -          The Migrant Isotopist

Interactive Visualization - Defining and using the ASSERT model: Part 2

Hello all!

Welcome back. This week I will continue talking about the ASSERT model from Bill Ferster’s (2013) book, Interactive Visualization. I will start by restating what ASSERT stands for and why it’s important. The acronym stands for ASK a question, SEARCH for evidence to answer the question, STRUCTURE that information to answer the question, ENVISION ways to answer the question using the data, REPRESENT the data in a compelling visualization, and TELL a meaningful story using the evidence to answer the question. It is used to help create visualizations that are engaging, educational, and help build onto research of the historical and social sciences.

Last week I focused on the A-S portion of the model. I formed the question (Ask) What were likely routes that migrants used to travel to this location before they died? I determined that this was a good question because it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, and its narrow scope can be appropriately investigated and answered visually. For the Search portion of the model, I determined that I would have access to sufficient information to help with the rest of the model.

Now that we are caught up, I will finish off the S-E-R-T portions.  

The second S stands for STRUCTURE. Structuring data helps to better make sense of it and allows for better questions to be asked (Ferster, 2013:76). For this step, Ferster explains that quantitative data is often best used by imputing into spreadsheets as it is quicker and more accurate than by using word processing programs. I used Google sheets and Excel for this step. Google sheets is really great for collaborating with people all over the world, and/or, if you’re planning on needing to access the information on different computers. Excel is great because it offers more options than the online version.

For ENVISION, Ferster states that successful applications of information do not communicate data, but rather, a message. For this, I plan to use the data from the Excel sheet and input data into ArcGIS. Then use the strontium and oxygen isotope base layers to intersect the data to show each migrant’s potential region of origin. Then I will create a layer in ArcGIS of the Medieval trade routes in Europe, focusing specifically on Western Europe.

For this project, I plan to REPRESENT the data by attempting to illustrate the mobility and diversity of the founders of Berlin. I am hoping to create a visual representation of each migrant moving along the most likely trade route to the Berlin area. This portion of the model also investigates the interaction of the audience. Ferster discusses the affordances and constraints the creator (in this case, me) needs to think about before and during the visualization creation process. If possible, I would like the user to be able to adjust the movement settings maybe via a slider tool; however, the constraints for this project will likely (mostly) be due to my own novice capabilities as well as the limitations of the program I use.

Finally, I hope to illustrate and TELL a story about the origins of the settlers of Berlin, since the city’s earliest years is unknown. “Stories follow a structure that describes the action over time” (Ferster, 2013:176). Besides the map and the movement of the little icons on the screen, the best part of the project will be this portion of the model. I look forward to being able to give a voice back to each individual, no matter how limited it might be. By learning about these people through their diet, we not only learn a little about the founding of a major European capital city, but we also get a glimpse of the lives of the past through a unique combination of methodologies.

Now that I have explained the model and thought about how to proceed through its development, I look forward to working on it and sharing it with you all!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit!

-The Migrant Isotopist

Interactive Visualization - Defining and using the ASSERT model

Hello all!

Welcome back!  This week I will be writing about the first couple chapters of Bill Ferster’s book, Interactive Visualization (2013). A simplistic way of explaining what information visualization is, is something you look at that provides information about a topic. A photo, a pamphlet, a poster, a web page, anything that can organize data and relay it in a meaningful way. One example Ferster used was of John Snow’s 1854 map of cholera in London. Snow was able to plot the cholera related deaths on a map to illustrate that the outbreak was due to water contamination from a specific water source rather than being an airborne issue as people initially believed.

Using visualizations to understand data may not always provide a full story, but it provides an accessible way to start. The addition of computers to help with visualizations allow for a more in-depth approach for the audience to understand and work with the data. The author states that good visualizations are driven by good questions (Ferster 2013: 45).

But how does one begin?

After reviewing different methods of creating and evaluating visualizations, Bill Ferster introduces the ASSERT model to help create visualizations that are engaging, educational, and help build onto research of the historical and social sciences. The acronym stands for ASK a question, SEARCH for evidence to answer the question, STRUCTURE that information to answer the question, ENVISION ways to answer the question using the data, REPRESENT the data in a compelling visualization, and TELL a meaningful story using the evidence to answer the question.

He first discusses how to write a question that is narrow enough in scope, but also meaningful. A question should be stated in MORE than four or five words. This will help to narrow the question. A question in fewer words is likely too broad. A question should also require more of an answer than a simple yes or no. Ferster suggested using a three-part approach to construct a research question. This includes identifying a focused topic, what questions are needed to explore the topic, and why should someone care about exploring the topic.

Ferster then discusses searching for information. He states that “when evidence is understood in relation to a specific inquiry, the data moves from evidence of something to evidence for something.” (Ferster 2013:66). There are lots of sources for information. Sources come three forms: primary (created at the time), secondary (generally created after the fact), or tertiary (a source that draws on primary and secondary sources – like an encyclopedia or almanac, etc.). Information gathered from these sources provide the data for the visualization.

So, based on just these two chapters, how might this inform my own project?

Well, as I have mentioned in a prior posting, I am an anthropologist. As my blog title may suggest, I study migration through isotope analysis. I use geochemical information gathered from mostly human (and some animal) skeletal remains to answer questions surrounding diet and mobility in the past. So, a basic general question might be something like, were people from this particular cemetery immigrants? This unfortunately results in a yes or no type of response. So, I could adjust it to something like: What were likely routes that migrants used to travel to this location before they died? This is a focused question as it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. To explore the topic, I would need to map the isotopic values to the landscape to provide an estimate of region of origin for the individuals. Then I would research known roads and trade routes during the period. Why would someone care about this question? For this example, the interest could come from wanting to learn about where the city’s founding settlers came from and how they got there. For this particular question, I do have accessible and reliable information to answer the question.

Since this is just a summary and reflection of Bill Ferster’s first two chapters focusing on the A-S portion of the ASSERT model, stay tuned in upcoming weeks for the remaining portions to see how I work on this question using his model.  

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit!

-The Medieval Isotopist

Question for Bill

1. How do you choose the best visualization method for your project?

2. What have you found to be the best methods for sharing your visualization projects?