PRAGIS: a test case for a web-based archaeological GIS

Archaeology, like many disciplines, has employed GIS as a tool which allows a diversity of new research agendas, from predictive site modeling to the combination of spatial datasets once too cumbersome to be handled in entirety. With the explosion of web mapping applications over the past decade, the opportunity now exists to bring these capabilities, once requiring specialized education and software, to the entire archaeological community. The Puuc Region Archaeological Geographic Information System (PRAGIS) is a methodological foray into providing basic spatial analysis to professionals regardless of their computer mapping experience. With the combination of datasets pertaining to site location, landforms, modern features, recent land use patterns, as well as several basemaps, it is intended that this type of program will provide the intermediary functionality between the current options of basic static site visualization or a full suite of spatial tools, along with a corresponding internet database. http://egis.artsci.uc.edu/PRAGIS/