Stefani Crabtree, member of the CRI, and his co-authors have recently published a series of three articles on the use of agent-based modeling in archaeology, published today in Advances in Archaeological Practice.
Although archaeologists have integrated agent-based modeling into some research approaches, there are no tutorials on how to use the tools specifically to model the past. This series brings together three case studies, followed by three step-by-step tutorials (see Supplemental Info for each article). Visit first article presents the reasons why someone studying the past would want to use agent-based modeling. The second article shows how to incorporate realistic spatial data into a model. The third article explores how agent-based modeling can be useful for advocacy, policy-making and teaching. The series aims to help those interested in integrating computational modeling approaches into their research. Although the tutorials focus on archaeology, the articles refer to interdisciplinary research and literature. Finally, by using open source software, the authors aim to establish a link with open science and education, promoting the fundamental scientific principles of IRC.
