Using ARCGRID software's Pathdistance Function to Model Catchment Zones for Archaeological Sites on the Madaba Plain, Jordan

"In this paper, "catchment zones" refers to the use area surrounding archaeological sites. Determining a site''s catchment enables the archaeologist to speculate/determine such things as environmental resources and likely subsistence strategies available to inhabitants. Determining catchments has often involved little more than the imposition of an arbitrary distance as a radius around an archaeological site. In an effort to create more meaningful catchments, this study proposes the use of the GRID function PATHDISTANCE to model catchment zones around archaeological sites. Archaeological data for this study was taken from surveys conducted in the regions of Tall Hisban and Tall al-''Umayri, Jordan."