USING HYDROLOGIC AND AGENT-BASED MODELING OF PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CANYON OF THE ANCIENTS REGION, SOUTHWEST COLORADO TO DEVELOP INTERDISCIPLINARY EDUCATIONAL SIMULATIONS: A CASE STUDY UTILIZING GEOLOGICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

One of the primary purposes of this NSF biocomplexity study is to model the paleohydrology and high-resolution archaeological/cultural interactions for human settlement systems in the Canyon of the Ancients Region, Southwest Colorado. The geological and archaeological models created will then be simplified and used to create user interactive simulations. The focus of the simulations will include exploration of interdependent themes such as the environment and sustainability of natural resources. High school age children visiting Crow Canyon Archaeological Center will be the target audience.

From a research perspective, the intent is to understand and model the lagged response of water resources in the Canyon of the Ancients study area to changes in climate and the broad impact of those changes on human occupation. This will be accomplished by understanding and modeling the modern hydrologic systems, paleohydrologic systems, and agent-based modeling of the coupled human/natural landscapes from A.D. 600 through 1300.

The educational component will then explore the interdisciplinary nature of the coupled human and natural systems using the geological and cultural data incorporated into the simplified agent-based model simulations. A background in the methodologies employed by geologists and archaeologists will be presented for a basis of data interpretations. The students will be able to independently analyze output and draw conclusions from results produced by varying individual model parameters.

While the simulation will be the centerpiece of the educational experience, Crow Canyon will develop a curriculum including components that will be used prior to and following use of the simulation. The pre-simulation activities will introduce students to the project, geological and archaeological concepts, and require construction of hypotheses that can be tested by running the simulation. Post-simulation activities will focus on analysis of the results and revising student hypotheses as necessary.