(Part I) Abstract: Quantitative model-based approaches to archaeology have been rapidly gaining popularity. Their utility in providing an experimental test-bed for examining how individual actions and decisions could influence the emergence of complex social and socio-environmental systems has fueled a spectacular increase in adoption of computational modeling techniques to traditional archaeological studies. However, computational models are restricted by the limitations of the technique used, and are not a “silver bullet" solution for understanding the archaeological and anthropological record. Rather, simulation and other types of formal modeling methods provide a way to interdigitate between archaeology/anthropology and computational approaches and between the data and theory, with each providing a feedback to the other. In this session we seek well-developed models that use data and theory from the anthropological and archaeological records to demonstrate the utility of computational modeling for understanding various aspects of human behavior. Equally, we invite case studies showcasing innovative new approaches to archaeological models and new techniques expanding the use of computational modeling techniques.
