Chapter 7: The Archaeology of Settlement
Multiple Choice Questions
Weblinks
This chapter looks at archaeological sites. How do we define and understand them?
7.1 Reconstructing ancient landscapes
These examples show different approaches to recovering and presenting ancient landscapes:
Middle Palaeolithic Israel http://www.phytolith.net/Amud.html
Ice Age sequences http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/ahob/Chart.pdf
Palaeoclimates http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/ogu/palaeoclimate.htm
7.2 Identifying human use of the landscape
The sites listed in Chapter 3 will be particularly useful here.
An example of a midden:
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/middens/resources/denmark
The use of the Yorkshire Dales by Mesolithic hunter gatherers:
http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/archsci/ydhgrg/index.php?value=ydhgrp
An interactive map showing all the known Roman villas in the UK is at:
http://www.online-archaeology.co.uk/Connect/ArchaeologyMapsandGIS
7.3 Identifying the function(s) of archaeological sites
There are many sites dealing with specific settlements. This brief list covers a number of periods.
Palaeolithic:
Dolni Vestonici http://donsmaps.com/dolni.html
Olduvai Gorge http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/africa/olduvai_gorge.html
Üçağızlı cave site in Turkey is at http://web.arizona.edu/~hatayup/
Mesolithic:
Tybrind Vig http://www.abc.se/~m10354/publ/tybrind.htm
Siebenlinden (Germany) http://www.landesdenkmalamt-bw.de/english/archaeol/siebenlinden/index.php
Lepenski Vir http://donsmaps.com/lepenski2.html
Howick http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeology/excavations_techniques
Neolithic:
Catal Hoyuk http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Catal_Hoyuk.html
Karanovo http://www.bulgaria.com/photos/web/culture.pdf
Tell Brak http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/projects/tellbrak.html and also http://www.learningsites.com/Brak/Tell-Brak_home.html
An essay on early towns is at http://history-world.org/firsttowns.htm
Bronze Age:
Companion images of Knossos http://www.dilos.com/region/crete/minoan_pictures.html
Mashkan Shapir is at http://www.vizin.org/projects/mashkan/html/mashkansol.htm
Roman:
Silchester http://www.silchester.rdg.ac.uk/
Virtual Wroxeter http://www.arch-ant.bham.ac.uk/bufau/research/bt/
Pompeii http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/archsci/field_proj/anampomp/
Medieval:
Medieval settlement research group http://www.britarch.ac.uk/msrg/index.html
Wharram Percy (England) http://loki.stockton.edu/~ken/wharram/wharram.htm
Whittlewood (England) http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/whittlewood/index.htm
Wallingford http://www.le.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/wallingford/index.htm
Cahercommaun http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/archaeology/arch_burren
7.4 The use of space on archaeological sites
This section will include sites on spatial analysis.
Cost surface analysis is explained at:
http://www.mapaspects.org/courses/anth197/week9
7.5 Understanding structures
This section is concerned with what can be learned from upstanding buildings and also the methods archaeologists use to ‘reconstruct’ ancient buildings.
A broch: Scatness (Shetland) http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/archsci/field_proj/scat/
Crannogs: Loch Tay (Scotland) http://www.crannog.co.uk/
Medieval and later buildings: Weald and Downland Museum (England) http://www.wealddown.co.uk/
Submerged structures http://www.abc.se/~m10354/uwa/submerge.htm