The Modelplaza project

On the 16th of April, the kickoff meeting of the ModelPlaza project took place at the Netherland eScience Center. In this project, the RSD team will work together with the NASSA community to create an open library of model algorithms and code developed by the international consortium Network for Agent-based modelling of Socio-ecological Systems in Archaeology (NASSA).

Archaeologists are increasingly relying on computer simulations to reconstruct and understand past societies. They are successfully building and running simulations of agrarian production, trade, settlement development and movement, to name a few. With the proliferation of modelling approaches, it is imperative that these simulations are made accessible and can be used as input for future research.

ModelPlaza will build upon the NASSA-hub (https://archaeology-abm.github.io/NASSA-hub/) and will be the first repository of simulation algorithms and code snippets in the field of the Humanities and the largest coordinated undertaking of this kind in the field. It will redefine current practices in collaboration and synergy in modelling communities by developing an openly available and functional modules library, offering a host of elements as building blocks for elaborate and case-driven models and research questions.