Using agent-based modeling as a method to infer about human occupation of prehistoric foraging groups in the State of São Paulo

Abstract

Human mobility is a theme that has been widely explored by archaeologists through the study of artifacts and their relationship in time and space. Over the decades, methods and techniques to track and infer about the dispersion of prehistoric human groups have been expanded with advances in computer technologies. Recently, the concept of Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) has been established as a new efficient method, capable of creating simulations about collective behavior. This project proposes to combine Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and ABM with the aim of developing a model that allows to investigate how lytic variability could be related to the dispersion of prehistoric foraging groups in the State of São Paulo, based on the interaction of groups with different environments. The model will use pre-existing archaeological data (location of lithic sites and diagnostic artifacts) compiled by the proponent of this project, as well as ethnographic information, but will differ from commonly used approaches since it is not limited only to the archaeological record or chronologies to infer about movement of groups across the landscape. The pioneering character of this proposal resides in the fact that the results observed in the simulation will allow testing previously established hypotheses and proposing new ones, enabling analogies with what is already known, taking the opposite path to that of conventional archeology. The project also includes an internship abroad to be held at Arizona State University (ASU) at the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity, supervised by Dr. Michael Barton, also coordinator of the aforementioned laboratory. (AU)