Deeptime-research

The Great Circle, part of Deep Time Research Institute, is an interactive platform focused on the geographic analysis of ancient monuments and settlements along a specific great circle. It enables users to explore data visualizations that highlight the clustering of monumental architecture compared to settlements across multiple regions and time periods. The tool presents statistical findings showing that monuments are significantly clustered along the great circle, while settlements are anti-clustered, a divergence replicated across eight independent archaeological databases.

Users can interact with features such as a density heatmap, view over 363,000 archaeological sites, and filter data by region, site type, and time period. The platform provides detailed breakdowns of monument and settlement distributions in regions including Egypt, Peru, Easter Island, the Amazon, Iran, the Indus Valley, and Southeast Asia. It offers the ability to examine specific clusters along the circle and compare enrichment statistics, such as peak monument enrichment at varying corridor widths and the results of blinded validation tests. The tool also presents negative controls and comparative analyses to support the statistical significance of its findings.

The Great Circle is designed for those interested in archaeological research, spatial analysis, and the study of ancient monument distributions. Its interactive globe and data layers allow for in-depth exploration of site clustering and geographic patterns over time.