

This guide contains anthropological software available on the web. Most of the software listed here is either freeware, shareware or demos. Much of this material was developed at universities by graduate student researchers. Quantitative, geographical information utilities and simulation software tend to be the focus of student programming efforts. While this kind of software is generally distributed without cost, there usually is a price. Freeware and shareware is usually offered without waranty and with only limited documentation.
AFTER
Ethnographic research program produced by NOVA Research Company.This
is an integrated sotware program that assigns codes to multimedia
material (photographs, text, audio, and video files), assembles
related coded files together for analysis, pulls excerpts for
selected codes from text files and non-text files, and creates
structured data files for quantitative analysis of coded items. Free
Demo available. IBM only.
AI-Phyto:
Phytoliths are silica bodies produced in the tissues of
many plant families that can be used to identify plants. There are
many applications of phytolith analysis in archaeology and
paleoecology. This program was written to be an introduction to
phytoliths for the non-expert. It incorporates the knowledge and
practice of Pearsall's and Piperno's laboratories. AI-PHYTOTM will
guide you through the basic classification system for phytoliths,
focusing on forms produced in the temperate and tropical regions of
the New World. Included in the program is a discriminant function for
identifying maize in the lowland tropics outside of Mexico, and a
computerized version of Piperno's 1988 key to phytolith
types. IBM only.
Agentsheets: An object
oriented simulation programing language. Agentsheets is based on LISP
(a form of artificial intelligence) and compiles to Java, which
permits web based distribution of simulations. While Agentsheets is a
powerful tool for simulation, it has little useful documentation. Mac
compatable only.
ANTHROPAC
is a menu-driven DOS program for collecting and analyzing data on
cultural domains. The program helps collect and analyze structured
qualitative and quantitative data including freelists, pilesorts,
triads, paired comparisons, and ratings. ANTHROPAC's analytical tools
include techniques that are unique to Anthropology, such as consensus
analysis, as well as standard multivariate tools such as multiple
regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis, multidimensional
scaling and correspondence analysis. In addition, the program
provides a wide variety of data manipulation and transformation
tools, plus a full-featured matrix algebra language.
Click here to
learn more about Anthropac.IBM only.
Bonn
Archaeological Statistics Package (BASP):A statistics package designed by and
for archaeologists. Most comercially produced statistics packages are
more powerful and easier to use than BASP. However, BASP performs
functions that are specific to archaeology (e.g. Harris Matrix
Analysis). IBM compatable only.
Forager: Amber Waves Software introduces
Forager, a foraging (feeding behavior) simulation software package.
This program enables users to set up animal behavior models based on
any of several current foraging concepts. Users can graphically
design the foraging environment and specify behavior rules. In
addition to its modeling capabilities, Forager contains tools for
creating reports,graphs, and maps. IBM only.
Maclade:cladistic software for the Mac. This
package is both easy to use and powerful. It is a fantastic tool for
examining the evolutionary history of related organisms.
Neolithic
Revolution: A
semi-interactive movie that asks students to observe environmental
and social changes that occur as a result of the introduction of
neolithic farmers. Compatable with Mac, IBM and Sun Platforms.
Requires Shockwave plug-in.
PalomaWorld:A virtual tour of a three thousand
year old Peruvian fishing village. Visitors
can 'fly-through' a 3D reconstruction of the village and excavate a
portion of the site. Compatable with Mac, IBM and Sun Platforms.
Requires Shockwave plug-in.
Sapiens:
Fight for your life in this paleolithic simulation. Mac only.
Swarm
is a software package for multi-agent simulation of complex systems
being developed at The Santa Fe Institute. Swarm is intended to be a
useful tool for researchers in a variety of disciplines, especially
artificial life. IBM or Unix.
TNT-lite:A dynamyte geographical information
system for medium to small sized projects. TNT-lite is relatively
easy to use and is well documented. Mac or IBM.
ViSta:
Visual Statistics System. Free statistics software that
uses a graphical interface and artificial intelligence for dynamic
model building. Includes a multidimensional scaling module. Mac, IBM
or Unix.
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