Archaeological Materials Science

General introduction • Basic concepts about Geographic Information Systems • GIS software: desktop applications, webGIS, commercial and open source alternatives • Types of digital maps: vectors, raster and related characteristics • Georeferencing and projection systems • Potential GIS use, presentation of case studies Types of geographic data • Vector layers and thematic maps • Digital Elevation Models and Digital Terrain Models • Multispectral satellite images • Spectral transformations and indexes: NDVI, NDWI, NDSI, fire detection etc. • Climate and soil data • Land Cover and Land Cover Change data • Online repositories of open GIS data Basic operations in QGIS • Browser, data source manager and data loading • Map canvas and navigation • Layer styling and labeling • Layer grouping and themes • Layout manager and map renders • Basic vector editing Advanced operations with GIS data • Advanced vector editing • Database editing and field calculator • Vector analysis and geoprocessing • Raster calculator • Vector-raster conversion • Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL): main functions and usage • Spatial statistics and spatial join Remote Sensing basics • Satellites and Earth observation • EM spectrum and RS bands • Spatial and temporal resolution • Free and commercial RS data sources • Earth observation missions and related products • RS data visualization: RGB and false color • Segmentation, unsupervised and supervised classification of RS data webGIS applications • Basic concepts about webGIS • Google Earth Engine Explorer and Code Editor • Introduction to GEE Playground: scripts, assets and basic operation • Access to global datasets and image processing in GEE Playground • EarthMap, a GUI frontend to the GEE playground Geodatabases • Basic concepts about databases • Relational Data Base management Systems • PostgreSQL and PostGIS • Basic SQL operation: SELECT, UPDATE, CREATE, DROP syntax • Basic PostGIS operation: “st_” functions • Creation of a simple geodatabase • Accessing and managing geodatabases from QGIS

Basic usage of standard Operating Systems (Windows / MacOS / Linux) Use of spreadsheet software (Excel / OpenOffice Calc / LibreOffice Calc)

Theory slides used by the teacher and provided to the students Resources for practical applications provided by the teacher References for practical applications: QGIS.org, 2023. QGIS 3.28. Geographic Information System User Guide. QGIS Association. Electronic document: https://docs.qgis.org/3.28/en/docs/user_manual/index.html Cardille J.A., Clinton N., Crowley M.A., Saah D. (eds.) Cloud-Based Remote Sensing with Google Earth Engine: Fundamentals and Applications. Electronic document: https://www.eefabook.org/go-to-the-book.html Online resources for practical applications: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units/countries https://gadm.org/index.html https://openlandmap.org/ https://chelsa-climate.org/ https://earthengine.google.com/ https://earthmap.org/

It is necessary to attend the lessons in presence To carry out the practical activities a laptop running Windows, MacOS or Linux operating system will be required

The oral exam will consist in the presentation of a simple digital mapping project, realized through the skills acquired and the tools used during the lessons. The presentation should include a general overview of the topic and the study area and a detailed illustration of the methodology adopted and the results obtained. The theme of the presentation can be agreed with the teacher during class or receiving hours. In addition to the evaluation of the project, some theoretical questions dealing with the methods used for the project itself may be asked.

Classroom lessons will be integrated with practical activities, consisting of the visualization and processing of example spatial data. For data processing the "QGIS" software will be used (downloadable for free from the official website, or alternatively provided by the teacher).