Agent-Based Simulation in Archaeology: A Characterization

Historical hypotheses are usually very vaguely worded concepts trying to satisfy mankind’s curiosity about its own planet’s past. Although time can never be turned back again in order to make them a proven fact, some of these hypotheses are scientifically rather doubted and some are not as they are confirmed by historical findings. If findings are missing, arguments for the scientific credibility of hypotheses are usually very sparse. One very modern way to at least have the possibility to falsify wrong theses is computer modelling and simulation. Due to exponentially increasing performance of computers, nowadays more and more complex models can be simulated in shorter time with less efforts. Thus so called agent-based models requiring lots of memory and fast computation, are getting more and more popular also among archaeologists. The following chapter explains the basics of agent-based modelling and gives examples showing their scientific value.