Observations of land use transformations during the Neolithic using exploratory spatial data analysis: contributions and limitations
Résumé
The settlement pattern analysis in archaeology implies some methodological questions. In this paper, we question
some issues about the use of geostatistical methods for the observation of land use transformations during the
Neolithic. We have developed two examples in Burgundy (France): the first one on a regional scale and the second
one on a micro-regional scale. Using different ESDA approaches (Ripley’K function, Nearest Neighbour Distance,
Kernel Density Estimation), we would like to underline what the methodological and archaeological contributions
and their limits are. Both experiences point out that the results obtained depend not only on the analytical scale, but
also on the quality and the quantity of the studied data. The contribution of this paper is to prove that scale, quality
and quantity, are three essential parameters for the “reflexive approach” when using spatial statistics in landscape
problems.