Isaac I T Ullah | San Diego State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Isaac I T Ullah

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2020

During August 2018, the University of Toronto mounted excavations at a Yarmukian site called Taba... more During August 2018, the University of Toronto mounted excavations at a Yarmukian site called Tabaqat Ar Rutūbah (‫‬ َ ‫طوب‬ ‫الرُّ‬ ‫طبقة‬ WQ 117), which the Wādī Qusaybah Survey first discovered in 2012, and subjected to small test excavations in 2014. The site is about 0.35ha in size and in 2014 we encountered stone and mud-brick building foundations as well as pits. Although thick colluvium at the site obscures much of its area, where Neolithic deposits are closer to the surface, we have found up to 2m of stratification that may span a period from ca. 6200 to perhaps 5700 cal. BC. This provides an excellent opportunity to study changes in important aspects of Yarmukian material culture, including its pottery, over time. The site also exhibits some enigmatic aspects, including its rarity of sickle elements and a complete lack of mammalian bone, both of which are usually fairly abundant at sites of this period.

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2023

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been used in archaeology for four decades, and colloquia... more Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been used in archaeology for four decades, and colloquially appears to have become a main tool in the geospatial aspects of archaeological practice. In this paper, we examine temporal trends in the use and/or mention of GIS in archaeological publications (books and journal articles), conference presentations, and websites. We gathered data through keyword searches and with formal sampling surveys and conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses to characterize the changing nature and intensity of GIS use in archaeology over time, and then contextualize these trends with a narrative history of archaeological GIS. We show how archaeological GIS-use has grown from a few early adopters of the 1980’s, through a slow initial integration phase in the 1990’s, to a set of two major expansions in the 2000’s and 2010’s. While we find that applied use of GIS has grown to the point where it can be considered ubiquitous – if not completely universal – in the discipline, we also discovered that the major focus in archaeological GIS advancement is methodological rather than theoretical. We identify five roadblocks that we believe have hampered the development of a theory-rich archaeological GIS: 1) deficiencies in the archaeological GIS education model, 2) over-reliance on commercial software, 3) technical/technological barriers, 4) gaps in acceptance of GIS, and 5) the perception of GIS as “just a tool.” We offer initial suggestions for ways forward to mitigate the effects of these roadblocks and build a more robust, theoretically sophisticated relationship with GIS in archaeology.

Full text available online at this link: https://rdcu.be/duPJt

Archaeologies, 2019

Based on recent research in the San Pasquale Valley in southern Calabria, this paper presents our... more Based on recent research in the San Pasquale Valley in southern Calabria, this paper presents our experiences with combining ethnographic and traditional archaeological methodologies to establish a community-serving, rather than strictly research-generating, endeavor. We argue that truly collaborative projects offer new opportunities for knowledge production and knowledge presentation about the past, and provide a platform for service to our collaborators who make our work possible. Prioritizing process, while acknowledging the need for academic capital, makes us better scientists and offers the key to engaged scholarship.

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 2019

Archaeological research on sustainability enjoys an increasingly high profile in the discipline... more Archaeological research on sustainability enjoys an increasingly high profile in the discipline, with scholars employing a range of methodological and theoretical platforms. We argue that the most successful forays of applied archaeological research into sustainability encompass three major realms: the social foundations and local histories of any human community, the economic resources and practices to support that community, and the environmental and geological couplings existing therein. This study explores dynamic relationships between these three spheres by discussing how nineteenth- and twentieth-century farmers, land managers, and landowners, along with their families, created and maintained a vibrant community, founded for the commercial production of bergamot, mulberries, olives, grapes, and a wide variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and cereal crops in the San Pasquale Valley (SPQV), Calabria, Italy. Our theoretical approach combines Lave and Wenger's (1991) community of practice approach with Scarborough's (2009) model of labor- and techno-tasking strategies to document laborscapes through time, using architectural documentation, oral histories, documentary evidence, oral histories, ethnographic interviews, and climate modeling. We demonstrate the interpretive power of incorporating cultural foundations into environmental and economic models to produce more comprehensive understandings of how people succeed and fail to sustain livelihoods and communities. We argue that rhythms and nuances of linkages between the SPQV environment, economy, and social worlds require a more flexible conceptualization of sustainability to encompass the variety of solutions developed by current SPQV community members to craft sustainable economic and social futures for themselves.

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 32.1, 2019

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2019

How can archaeologists contribute to tracing the evolutionary dynamics of the coupled human-natur... more How can archaeologists contribute to tracing the evolutionary dynamics of the coupled human-natural systems that characterize the Anthropocene? We present a Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) framework to integrate models of human and natural landscape formation processes in the mid to late Holocene on the Talgar alluvial fan on the north slope of the Tian Shan Mountains in the area known as "Semirech'ye" ("Seven Rivers"). We compare our model to the physical evidence from sediment profiles and the archaeological record of subsistence and settlement over the Holocene. The resulting coupled model situates "niche construction theory" and the idea of "transported landscapes" within the SES perspective to focus on how couplings and feedbacks between humans and biophysical processes create or limit opportunities for different modes of subsistence over time, especially during periods of expansion and colonization of new territories. In the Talgar region, we hypothesize that initial, low-level human manipulations of surface water flow across an alluvial fan coupled with aeolian and fluvial sediment dynamics in a series of positive feedbacks to increase the possibilities for agricultural production over time. The human niche in Talgar therefore became increasingly sedentary and agricultural in emphasis compared to niches constructed in other parts of Central Eurasia. Graphical Abstract: Highlights: • A Socio-Ecological Systems framework integrates geological and social process models. • Humans construct new subsistence niches by exploiting positive and negative feedback. • Temporal dynamics of SES feedback loops are integral to landscape evolution. • The conditions of different territories can lead to different constructed niches.

Anthropocene, 2016

The emergence of coupled natural and human landscapes marked a transformative interval in the hum... more The emergence of coupled natural and human landscapes marked a transformative interval in the human past that set our species on the road to the urbanized, industrial world in which we live, and enabled technologies and social institutions responsible for human-natural couplings in domains beyond rural, agricultural settings. The Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project (MedLand) is studying the interacting social and biophysical processes associated with these novel socioecological systems and their long-term consequences using a new form of 'experi-mental socioecology' made possible by recent advances in computation. We briefly describe the MedLand modeling laboratory, a hybrid simulation environment that couples models of smallholder farming and herding, landscape evolution, and vegetation change managed through an interaction model. We then review three examples of experimental socioecology carried out in this laboratory. These offer new insights for scale-dependent thresholds in agropastoral productivity , long-term sustainability of alternative land-use strategies, and identifying signatures of human and climate-driven landscape dynamics. We conclude with an overview of new directions for this interdisciplinary research on Anthropocene human-earth systems, including: modeling more diverse decision-making strategies for land-use, developing more sophisticated models of vegetation dynamics and fire ecology, and generating digital proxy data for more robust model validation against the empirical record.

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2015

The data from older archaeological surveys are incredibly important resources, often containing o... more The data from older archaeological surveys are incredibly important resources, often containing our only information about sites that
have been destroyed or that are now inaccessible. These surveys occurred before the advent of GPS technology, however, so their
spatial accuracy is often uncertain. Many types of locational errors accumulate in such “legacy” datasets, so using them in modern
GIS-based spatial analyses is frequently problematic. Many of the sources of error can be identified and quantified, however, and
systematic and random errors (derived mainly from Cartesian, rounding, and human error) can largely be mitigated by scanning the
original field maps, georectifying the maps to trusted imagery, and then digitizing sites directly. The remaining “mislocation” errors
derive from difficulty identifying locations in the field. The original survey notes may contain clues about mislocation error, but it is
impossible to mitigate these errors without re-recording site locations with more accurate survey instruments. Instead, I advocate the
use of GIS-based models to estimate the influence of specific surveying practices on site location accuracy. These models can provide
a standardized, quantifiable measure of mislocation error in a legacy dataset, which can help guide its use in modern GIS analyses
that require accurate site locations.
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A DIGITAL OFF-PRINT.

Geoarchaeology, 2014

The Mediterranean landscape record is recognized for its length and richness and the opportunity ... more The Mediterranean landscape record is recognized for its length and richness and the opportunity it offers to study the interaction between humans and their landscape. This volume explores a variety of current archaeological issues in the context of specific landscapes from southern Spain through Greece and Cyprus to Jordan and from antiquity to recent times. Over the last 25 years, researchers have initiated a dramatic expansion in theoretical approaches-both anthropological and classical. Over the same time span, a ...

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2006

Dramatic changes in land use were associated with the rise of agriculture in the mid Holocene. Bo... more Dramatic changes in land use were associated with the rise of agriculture in the mid Holocene. Both the surface properties and the drainage networks were changed. Along with the direct modifications to surface properties (vegetation change, sediment liberation, and compaction) and drainage network alteration (terracing, canals), up and downstream responses in the watersheds communicated these changes throughout the landscape. The magnitude, rate, and feedbacks with the growing human populations are critical questions ...

American Anthropologist, 2007

Land, 2015

We use the hybrid modeling laboratory of the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics (MedLanD) Project t... more We use the hybrid modeling laboratory of the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics (MedLanD) Project to simulate barranco incision in eastern Spain under different scenarios of natural and human environmental change. We carry out a series of modeling experiments set in the Rio Penaguila valley of northern Alicante Province. The MedLanD Modeling Laboratory (MML) is able to realistically simulate gullying and incision in a multi-dimensional, spatially explicit virtual landscape. We first compare erosion modeled in wooded and denuded landscapes in the absence of human land-use. We then introduce simulated small-holder (e.g., prehistoric Neolithic) farmer/herders in six experiments, by varying community size (small, medium, large) and land management strategy (satisficing and maximizing). We compare the amount and location of erosion under natural and anthropogenic conditions. Natural (e.g., climatically induced) land-cover change produces a distinctly different signature of landscape evolution than does land-cover change produced by agropastoral land-use. Human land-use induces increased coupling between hillslopes and channels, resulting in increased downstream incision.

Ecological Modelling, 2012

The archaeological record has been described as a key to the long-term consequences of human acti... more The archaeological record has been described as a key to the long-term consequences of human action that can help guide our decisions today. Yet the sparse and incomplete nature of this record often makes it impossible to inferentially reconstruct past societies in sufficient detail for them to serve as more than very general cautionary tales of coupled socio-ecological systems. However, when formal and compu- tational modeling is used to experimentally simulate human socioecological dynamics, the empirical archaeological record can be used to validate and improve dynamic models of long term change. In this way, knowledge generated by archaeology can play a unique and valuable role in developing the tools to make more informed decisions that will shape our future. The Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics project offers an example of using the past to develop and test computational models of interactions between land-use and landscape evolution that ultimately may help guide decision-making.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2010

The evolution of Mediterranean landscapes during the Holocene has been increasingly governed by t... more The evolution of Mediterranean landscapes during the Holocene has been increasingly governed by the complex interactions of water and human land-use. Different land-use practices change the amount of water flowing across the surface and infiltrating the soil, and change water's ability to move surface sediments. Conversely, water amplifies the impacts of human land-use and extends the ecological footprint of human activities far beyond the borders of towns and fields. Advances in computational modeling offer new tools to study the complex feedbacks between land-use, land-cover, topography, , and surface water. The Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project (MedLand) is building a modeling laboratory where experiments can be carried out on the long-term impacts of agropastoral land-use, and whose results that can be tested against the archaeological record. These computational experiments are providing new insights into the socioecological consequences of human decisions at varying temporal and spatial scales.

Discourse on the origins and spread of domesticated species focuses on universal causal explanati... more Discourse on the origins and spread of domesticated species focuses on universal causal explanations or unique regional or temporal trajectories. Despite new data as to the context and physical processes of early domestication, researchers still do not understand the types of system-level reorganizations required to transition from foraging to farming. Drawing upon dynamical systems theory and the concepts of attractors and repellors, we develop an understanding of subsistence transition and a description of variation in, and emergence of, human subsistence systems. The overlooked role of attractors and repellors in these systems helps explain why the origins of agriculture occurred quickly in some times and places, but slowly in others. A deeper understanding of the interactions of a limited set of variables that control the size of attractors (a proxy for resilience), such as population size, number of dry months, net primary productivity, and settlement fixity, provides new insights into the origin and spread of domesticated species in human economies.

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2020

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2023

Full text available online at this link: https://rdcu.be/duPJt

Archaeologies, 2019

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 2019

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 32.1, 2019

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2019

Anthropocene, 2016

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2015

Geoarchaeology, 2014

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2006

American Anthropologist, 2007

Land, 2015

Ecological Modelling, 2012

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2010

Over the last decade, the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project has integrated complex systems... more Over the last decade, the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project has integrated complex systems concepts with computer simulation and empirical data in research on early farming systems. We have developed a computational laboratory, composed of multiple interacting models that are dynamically and recursively linked. to study how small-holder Social-Ecological Systems (SES) grow and change over time, how they react to major system state change, and how specific system variables affect the trajectories of these SES over space and time. Here, we apply this approach to questions of temporal and spatial scale related to the drivers and consequences of long-term change in SES. In particular, we examine how spatio-temporal “misalignment” between sub-systems can generate social-environmental variability and feedbacks in early SES. We present a theoretical framework for the development and consequences of these mismatches over the long term, with particular attention paid to the development of early farming SES. Related to this, we also consider how the scale of observation affects our interpretation of apparent change in these SES. We use examples from experiments conducted in our modeling laboratory to illustrate these concepts.

Paper presented in the symposium “Multi-scalar Approaches to Archaeological Interpretation” at th... more Paper presented in the symposium “Multi-scalar Approaches to Archaeological Interpretation” at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin, TX. April 23-27, 2014

Paper presented in the symposium “Environmental Change: Data, Processes, and Integrated Modeling”... more Paper presented in the symposium “Environmental Change: Data, Processes, and Integrated Modeling” at the 20th Annual Meeting of the European Archaeological Association, Istanbul, Turkey. September 10-14, 2014.

Paper presented in the symposium “Paleolithic Paradigms: Papers in Honor of Geoffrey Clark” at t... more Paper presented in the symposium “Paleolithic Paradigms: Papers in Honor of Geoffrey Clark” at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin, TX. April 23-27, 2014

This is an agent-based model of a potential scenario for the forager-farmer transition. It is par... more This is an agent-based model of a potential scenario for the forager-farmer transition. It is parameterized for a millet/deer ecosystem (east Asia), but could apply to any hunting/seed gathering system if parameterized accordingly. Rather than use an existing ABM or other modeling framework, I have written it in pure Python, both as a fun exercise for me, and with the hope of better integration to scientific Python (e.g., pandas, matplotlib) and the open-science movement.

CoMSES Computational Model Library, 2015

MedLanD Modeling Laboratory, developed in the NSF funded Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project... more MedLanD Modeling Laboratory, developed in the NSF funded Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project. The MML provides a hybrid modeling environment that couples an agent-based model of small-holder agropastoral households and a cellular landscape evolution model that simulates changes in erosion/deposition, soils, and vegetation. The ABM is written in Java and uses DEVS Suite (all needed files are included). The landscape evolution model is written in Python and requires installation of GRASS GIS v.6. Java jar, Java source code, Python source code, and sample data files (as a GRASS spatial database) are available here.

Percolation Theory The behaviour of interconnected clusters in spatial lattices can provide insig... more Percolation Theory The behaviour of interconnected clusters in spatial lattices can provide insights into adaptive-sampling protocols applied to two-dimensional scatters of artifacts. In percolation theory, the cells in a lattice, like the rectangular grid that archaeologists use to sample with SSTs, can be " occupied " or " empty, " and the probability that any node is occupied is p and the probability that it is empty (has no artifacts) is 1-p. Clusters consist of occupied cells linked by adjacency, but can also have " holes " in them. In a 2D lattice, values of p greater than about 0.7 — the critical threshold — lead to a continuous cluster that extends all across the lattice. The Simulations We use GRASS to generate simulated distributions of artifacts, both random and clustered into " sites, " and to simulate 100 iterations of adaptive shovel testing. The random distributions are Poisson, while the " sites " have a higher internal density, with a more diffuse background scatter. The SST plans began with an initial placement of 30cm SSTs at 5m intervals, a second interation of four SSTs at 2.5m intervals in the cardinal neighborhoods of positive SSTs, and a third iteration of up to three SSTs at 2.5m intervals in the neighborhoods of new positives. At each subsequent iteration, we randomly shift the x-and y-axis of the 5m grid to repeat the adaptive sampling plan. We performed experiments with four random distributions, and four " site " distributions for a total of eight experiments and in these results assume that intersection yields detection. We repeated each experiment 100 times, with a new randomize grid placement each time. Results: Interpolated clusters of adjacent cells that the adaptive plan finds co-occur with " sites " when the background is low, but clusters found are typically more numerous and smaller than " real " clusters. On average, the plan yielded more negatives than positives within site boundaries when site density was 5/m 2 , but more positives than negatives when it was 10/m 2. As predicted by percolation theory, only 40% of initial SSTs that intersected sites were positive when artifact density within those clusters was 5 artifacts/m 2 .

ADAJ, 2020

During August 2018, the University of Toronto mounted excavations at a Yarmukian site called Taba... more During August 2018, the University of Toronto mounted excavations at a Yarmukian site called Tabaqat Ar Rutūbah ‫ة(‬ َ ‫طوب‬ ‫الرُّ‬ ‫طبقة‬ WQ 117), which the Wādī Qusaybah Survey first discovered in 2012, and subjected to small test excavations in 2014. The site is about 0.35ha in size and in 2014 we encountered stone and mud-brick building foundations as well as pits. Although thick colluvium at the site obscures much of its area, where Neolithic deposits are closer to the surface, we have found up to 2m of stratification that may span a period from ca. 6200 to perhaps 5700 cal. BC. This provides an excellent opportunity to study changes in important aspects of Yarmukian material culture, including its pottery, over time. The site also exhibits some enigmatic aspects, including its rarity of sickle elements and a complete lack of mammalian bone, both of which are usually fairly abundant at sites of this period.