Parallel coordinate plots in archaeology

Abstract

Parallel coordinate plots (PCPs) can be applied to explore multivariate data with more than three dimensions. This visualisation method is straightforward and easily intelligible for people without statistical background. However, to our knowledge, PCPs have not yet been applied to archaeological data. This paper presents some examples of archaeological classifications which are clearly visible in PCPs. For this purpose a program has been written offering some additional options which are not supported in standard software for PCP generation. Some of the functionality of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was introduced for PCPs: this program is able to create a thematic display based on a user-selected variable, optionally multiple plots highlight each thematic colour. Another variable may control the width of the PCP lines. Moreover, an info-tool, zoom, and a findfunction are supported. The resulting diagram can be saved in SVG format and in a GIS format. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013.