CHIFENG SETTLEMENT DATASET

The Chifeng Settlement Dataset complements the book Settlement Patterns in the Chifeng Region authored by the Chifeng International Collaborative Archaeological Research Project (available from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Comparative Archaeology in English; Chinese version forthcoming). It consists of the detailed data from the regional survey and test excavations carried out in the Chifeng region of northeastern China (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) whose results are presented in full in the printed volume. The contents of the volume are as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction by Katheryn M. Linduff and Ta La

Chapter 2: Stratigraphic Testing, Ceramics, and Chronology

Ceramic Chronology by Zhu Yanping and Guo Zhizhong

Excavation Methods and Stratigraphyby Robert D. Drennan

Absolute Dating by Gideon Shelach, Robert D. Drennan, and Christian E. Peterson

Lithics, Faunal Remains, and Bone Artifacts by Christian E. Peterson

Plant Remains by Zhao Zhijun

Chapter 3: Environment

The Natural Environment and Its Modern Exploitation by Teng Mingyu and Gideon Shelach

Climate Change during the Past 10,000 Years by Teng Mingyu and Gideon Shelach

Geomorphology by Gideon Shelach and Yoav Avni

Chapter 4: Settlement Analysis

Field Survey Methods by Robert D. Drennan

Methods for Regional Demographic Analysis by Robert D. Drennnan and Christian E. Peterson

Methods for Delineating Community Patterns by Christian E. Peterson and Robert D. Drennan

The Environmental Basis of Settlement Distribution by Gideon Shelach and Teng Mingyu

Chapter 5: Sequence of Social Change

Funding to collect the data presented here came from the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation (1997 and 2000) and the National Science Foundation (Grant BCS-016048). Fieldwork supported by National Science Foundation dissertation grant BCS-0327590 added to the survey area. Travel assistance as well as equipment were provided by the University Center for International Studies and the Central Research and Development Fund of the University of Pittsburgh, by the Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, by Jilin University, and by The Hebrew University. Preparation of the online dataset was supported in part by The Henry Luce Foundation.

Chifeng International Collaborative Archaeological Research Project (2011a) Settlement Patterns in the Chifeng Region. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Center for Comparative Archaeology.

Chifeng International Collaborative Archaeological Research Project (2011b) Chifeng Settlement Dataset. Comparative Archaeology Database, University of Pittsburgh. URL: <http://www.cadb.pitt.edu>.

Questions or comments about this dataset or the Comparative Archaeology Database can be directed to cadb@pitt.edu via email.

THE DATASET
Designed by Alexander J. Martín

This dataset contains five kinds of things: (1) profiles and other details from stratigraphic testing; (2) descriptions and sketch plans of individual sites in the survey; (3) numeric data from individual collection units in the survey and individual excavcation units in the stratigraphic tests, along with other ancillary datasets; (4) a GIS dataset providing locations of individual collection units, distributions of settlement in different periods, and environmental variables; and (5) color images of illustrations that appear in black-and-white in the printed volume.

Profiles from Stratigraphic Testing

The location, stratigraphy, and proportions of ceramic materials in all stratigraphic tests. The profiles provide the locations of all individual excavation units and detail the contexts of samples for radiocarbon dating.

Descriptions and Sketch Plans of Sites from Survey

Although "sites" played no real role in the analysis of settlement data, groups of contiguous collection units were given site numbers, and descriptions and sketch plans of features visible on the surface were recorded for sites. These are very rough sketch plans, but they are presented here, just as they were made hastily in the field, to document features that are disappearing.

Numeric Data

Numeric data are provided in two file formats. Comma-delimited text files should be easy to import into spreadsheet, database, and statistical programs for manipulation and analysis. Excel spreadsheets are easier to browse, and can also be imported into many programs.

Listing of survey collection units with information about collection technique, vegetation, etc.	Sites from survey with information on surface features and topographic setting.
Ceramics from survey collection units, with counts of sherds by period, decoration, and vessel form.	Ceramics from survey collection units, with densities and calculation of area-density index.
Listing of excavation units in stratigraphic tests including information about their grouping into strata.	Ceramics from stratigraphic tests.
Faunal remains from stratigraphic tests.	Plant remains from stratigraphic tests.
Bone artifacts from stratigraphic tests.	Lithic artifacts from stratigraphic tests.

GIS Dataset

Maps are included as a detailed GIS dataset, in several formats. Vector maps are provided as AutoCAD (Release 12) .DXF files which can be read by many CAD and GIS programs. Raster layers are provided in two formats: Idrisi raster image files and GeoTIFF raster files, which can be imported into many GIS programs. Both raster formats were created with Idrisi (Version 15--Andes).

Since both raster formats produce large files, they are provided as compressed .ZIP files. The .ZIP file for the Idrisi format contains the two files required for a complete Idrisi raster layer (.RDC and .RST). The .ZIP file for the GeoTIFF format also contains the two necessary files (.TFW and .TIF). Handling of .ZIP files is built into Windows and Mac operating systems and included in many free file archiving programs.

The formats of the spatial data provided in this section were not chosen for simple viewing, but rather for analysis. (The data values in many of the GeoTIFF files, for example, mean that, without contrast adjustments, they may look all black when viewed with a program such as Photoshop.) Color images of many of the maps that appear as black-and-white illustrations in the printed volume are available as .JPG files below under color images.

The coordinate system for the GIS data is the UTM-based system utilized in the Chinese government topographic maps that were current at the time the survey was carried out. All coordinates fall in UTM zone 50 north. The coordinate system uses the Beijing 1954 base datum. It thus does not correspond to data based on the WGS84 datum now coming into use as a global standard. Many GIS programs can make conversions between the two systems, but experience in the field in Chifeng shows that local vagaries in coordinate systems can lead to discrepancies in excess of 100 m between data sources, even after "correct" conversion from one base datum to another. The units throughout the GIS dataset are kilometers (not meters). All maps were set up for analysis as a planar Cartesian system, but the coordinates do correspond to the Beijing 1954 UTM Zone 50. The raster layers contain 4600 columns and 4200 rows of cells, each 10 m by 10 m (0.01 km by 0.01 km). X-coordinates range from 625.00 km at the west to 671.00 km at the east. Y-corrdinates range from 4660.00 km at the south to 4702.00 km at the north.

The GIS dataset includes the following:

Complete details of individual survey collection unit locations.	Map of Xinglongwa period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.
Map of Zhaobaogou period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.	Map of Hongshan period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.
Map of Xiaoheyan period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.	Map of Lower Xiajiadian period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.
Map of Upper Xiajiadian period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.	Map of Zhanguo-Han period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.
Map of Liao period occupation, including delineation of local and supralocal communities.	Map of modern occupation
Survey Limits.	Parts of low-lying Chifeng basin not surveyed.
Topographic map of the Chifeng region.	DEM of the Chifeng region.
Rivers in the Chifeng region.	Map of valley floors and uplands in the Chifeng region.
500-m buffers around valley floor.	Map of vegetation and modern land use in the Chifeng region.
Map of slopes in the Chifeng region.	Map of aspects in the Chifeng region.
Geological map of the Chifeng region.	Fast download of the entire GIS dataset, provided as Idrisi raster files and GEOTIFF raster files.

Color Images

Photographs, maps, and other figures in which color is useful that could only be presented in black-and-white in the printed volume are available here as color .JPG image files.

All photographs that appear as figures in black-and-white in the printed volume.	GIS layers and other maps that appear as figures in black-and-white in the printed volume.
All settlement distributions that are represented as surfaces in black-and white figures in the printed volume.	Several bar graphs that appear as figures in black-and-white in the printed volume.