Spatial Analysis for the Study of Environmental Settlement Patterns: The Archaeological Sites of the Santa Cruz Province

La María and Cerro Tres Tetas archaeological localities are located in the Central Plateau, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentine Patagonia. This area presents abundant lithic raw materials of very good quality for knapping including flint, chalcedony and silicified wood. These raw materials were used by the inhabitants of the region since the end of the Pleistocene until recent historical times. Besides, we have recorded the exploitation of exotic stones in low proportions at the archaeological sites. Among these, the most abundant is obsidian which probably comes from sources located more than125 kmaway. In this context, the use of this type of raw material should be evaluated in terms of social and symbolic issues.In this paper, we examine the strategies of acquisition and reduction of the obsidian found at the archaeological sites Cerro Tres Tetas 1, Casa del Minero 1, Cueva de La Ventana, La Mesada and Cueva Túnel. We carry out a technomorphological analysis of the obsidian remains from these sites.Results from this work strengthen the idea that the groups which lived in the Central Plateau knew about and exploited an obsidian source known as Pampa del Asador. A raise in the use of this raw material throughout time is recorded, reaching its peak in the late Holocene. We identified two different moments in the exploitation of obsidian at the regional level. During the final Pleistocene and early Holocene, obsidian would not have played a relevant role in the organization of technology. Production sequences indicate that tools probably were entered to the sites already manufactured. During the middle and late Holocene nodules and cores could have been brought into the sites. The strategies involved in their reduction are in broad terms similar to those implemented with local raw materials; there is no evidence that obsidian had more value in any way. On the other hand, it is also not possible to state that there was just an eventual exploitation of this raw material. We believe that obsidian was acquired during mobility circuits which enabled the contact between different groups.

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Modeling Archaic Settlement Patterns and Ecology in the Middle Cumberland River Valley of Tennessee

The Cumberland River Archaic of Middle Tennessee ◽

10.5744/florida/9781683400837.003.0009 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 145-166

Author(s):

Andrew Gillreath-Brown ◽

Aaron Deter-Wolf

Keyword(s):

Spatial Analysis ◽

Residential Mobility ◽

Settlement Patterns ◽

River Valley ◽

Late Archaic ◽

Data Limitations ◽

Middle Archaic ◽

Cumberland River ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Lines Of Evidence

Spatial analysis provides a greater understanding of relationships between people and environment. This chapter discusses settlement patterns and settlement ecology of the Middle Cumberland River Valley of Tennessee through spatial analysis and a settlement ecological approach. Multiple lines of evidence are necessary to distinguish between survey bias and archaeological patterns. This chapter examines Archaic settlements at local and regional scales using GIS-based analyses, exploring the environments that people chose to settle and the possible relationship of these choices to horticulture and gathering, and highlighting Archaic patterns with consideration of data limitations. The lower number of sites in the region during the Middle Archaic could suggest a return to a residential mobility strategy, while the Late Archaic yielded more logistical mobility. Decrease in site numbers and elevation from the Early to Middle Archaic could be tied to temperature fluctuations during the Altithermal. Some Late Archaic sites occur at slightly higher elevations, indicating perhaps more varied resources.

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Hilly Land

Fit for War ◽

10.5744/florida/9781683400059.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mary Elizabeth Fitts

Keyword(s):

Eighteenth Century ◽

Spatial Analysis ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Craft Production ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Subsistence Economy ◽

Topological Relationships ◽

Units Of Analysis

This chapter provides a tour of the Nation Ford locality, which was the seat of the Catawba Nation in the mid-eighteenth century. The floral, faunal, geological, and infrastructural aspects of the landscape significant to the Catawba Nation’s subsistence economy and town organization are highlighted. Information from archival maps, topological relationships, and datable artifacts together are presented to argue that two archaeological sites, 38Yk434 and 38Yk17, are likely the physical remains of the Catawba towns Nassaw-Weyapee and Charraw Town, respectively. Intrasite spatial analysis is conducted using sub-surface evidence of architecture, along with artifactual evidence of activity patterns, to define the units of analysis that will be used to examine the organization of Catawba craft production (chapter 6) and foodways activities (chapter 7).

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Palmisano, A; Bevan, A; Shennan, S; (2017) Regional Demographic Trends and Settlement Patterns in Central Italy: Archaeological Sites and Radiocarbon Dates. [Dataset]. UCL Institute of Archaeology: London, UK

10.14324/000.ds.1575442 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Keyword(s):

Settlement Patterns ◽

Central Italy ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Demographic Trends ◽

Radiocarbon Dates

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The attractiveness of archaeological sites in Greece: a spatial analysis

International Journal of Tourism Policy ◽

10.1504/ijtp.2007.017040 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 246 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Serafeim Polyzos ◽

Garyfallos Arabatzis ◽

Stavros Tsiantikoudis

Keyword(s):

Spatial Analysis ◽

Archaeological Sites

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AN APPRAISAL OF REGIONAL SURVEYS IN THE BASIN OF MEXICO, 1960–1975

Ancient Mesoamerica ◽

10.1017/s0956536115000097 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 183-196 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jeffrey R. Parsons

Keyword(s):

Survey Data ◽

Future Study ◽

Settlement Patterns ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Subsequent Research ◽

The Past ◽

Basin Of Mexico ◽

Modern Development ◽

Site Survey

AbstractIn this paper I focus on the regional surveys undertaken in 1960–1975—their development, implementation, key accomplishments, and major shortcomings. I also point to how resulting survey data and surface collections have provided the foundations for subsequent research on a variety of specific problems, sites, and locales, and how complementary historical and ethnographical studies have contributed to interpretations of pre-Columbian settlement patterns. I consider how off-site survey can, and should, complement the more extensive regional surveys that have been carried out in the past. While lamenting the archaeological record lost to modern development, in a more positive vein I suggest lines of productive future investigation that might still be undertaken to extend the significance of past results, evaluate a series of questions and hypotheses defined by the surveys, and help conserve archaeological sites and collections for future study.

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Lost Landscape: A Combination of LiDAR and APSFR Data to Locate and Contextualize Archaeological Sites in River Environments

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13173506 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 3506

Author(s):

Esther Rodríguez González ◽

Pablo Paniego Díaz ◽

Sebastián Celestino Pérez

Keyword(s):

Iron Age ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Settlement Patterns ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Human Settlement ◽

Guadiana Basin ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship ◽

Historical Periods

Over the last few decades, river landscapes have been significantly transformed as a result of increased human impact. This transformation is evident in areas such as the middle Guadiana basin, where the impact of both agricultural and hydraulic infrastructures has led to the decontextualization of archaeological sites, resulting in a disconnection between archaeological sites and their own physical environment. In order to analyse the location and geographic contexts of sites from the first Iron Age in the middle Guadiana basin and to detect the existence of human settlement patterns, we designed a methodological approach that combines LiDAR and APSFR data (areas with potential significant flood risk). The main purpose of this method is to detect flood areas and assess the relationship between them and archaeological sites. The result allowed us to obtain a clearer understanding of these societies, their knowledge of the physical environment, and the causes and reasons behind their occupation of certain sites. The validation of the results demonstrated the versatility of this methodological approach, which can be extrapolated to analysing other regions and historical periods.

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