The development of integrated terrestrial and marine pathways in the Argo-Saronic region, Greece

Abstract

Least cost path applications can be a powerful tool for understanding connectivity across a landscape. A limitation to this method is its difficulty in integrating terrestrial, marine, and cultural factors – all of which would have been at play in the prehistoric Aegean. This study looks at a method of modeling pathways that integrates major factors (land, sea, and culture) that would be in play while considering medium- to long-distance travel in the Aegean. This test case explores the possible relationships between proposed routes for communication and identified coastal sites with parameters modeled in geographic information system that affect travel in cultural, marine, and terrestrial contexts. The methods presented have significance beyond the Late Bronze Age Aegean. The development of a methodology that incorporates marine, cultural, and terrestrial environments provides a mechanism by which specific hypotheses regarding complex communication routes may be addressed in regions of the world where there is an intensive interplay between terrestrial and marine geographies.