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Homo SapienSapiens
Ca. 250,000
Neolithic Revolution
Ca. 7000-4000 bp
Cities w/ states in Africa
Ca. 4000 bp
Settlement Archaeology: the study of changing human settlement patterns
as part of the analysis of adaptive interactions between people and their
environment.
Settlement patterns: the layout and distribution of human settlements on the
landscape
Principle: settlements are not random across the landscape.
Settlements were created independently by those in Africa. Not
because anyone wanted them to.
When people move across the landscape, patterns are left on the
ground.
Environment places a large factor in locations for settlements
Archaeology Starts at the Local
Building and activity areas: minimal units in analysis
Communities: arrangements of buildings and activities into a single
group (walls!)
Distribution of Communities: density and distribution of contemporary
communities across the landscape.
Archaeologists attempt to work and pose questions at and between
these differing scales.
Household/Domestic Assemblage
Did someone live here?
Is it possible to subdivide the household?
, Households at Collections of Activity Areas
Household archaeology is a classic application of the Law of
Association
First Law of Geography: “Everything is related, but near things are
more related than distant things.” -Tobler
Example: Tenochtitlan (Aztec Capital)
Grid pattern, use of districts
African towns: snail shell pattern, grows outward from center
Sampling in Archaeology:
Systematic sampling: chooses one unit at random, then selects others
at equal intervals from the first one
Random Sampling: grid system and random number generaters to
decide dig spots
Stratified sampling: takes environment into account
Variability: settlement sizes vary across the landscape, related to political,
cultural, and other factors.
Important terms:
Carrying Capacity: the number and density of people that any tract of land
can support.
Site catchment area: zone of domestic and wild resources within easy
walking distance.
Site-exploitation territory: potential area from which food resources may be
obtained
Core: urban center, focus of internal trade
Periphery: supplies raw materials and filters ideas to margins
Margin: receives techniques and ideas through diffusion
Central Place Theory:
Designed to explain human settlements in terms of market areas
Homo SapienSapiens
Ca. 250,000
Neolithic Revolution
Ca. 7000-4000 bp
Cities w/ states in Africa
Ca. 4000 bp
Settlement Archaeology: the study of changing human settlement patterns
as part of the analysis of adaptive interactions between people and their
environment.
Settlement patterns: the layout and distribution of human settlements on the
landscape
Principle: settlements are not random across the landscape.
Settlements were created independently by those in Africa. Not
because anyone wanted them to.
When people move across the landscape, patterns are left on the
ground.
Environment places a large factor in locations for settlements
Archaeology Starts at the Local
Building and activity areas: minimal units in analysis
Communities: arrangements of buildings and activities into a single
group (walls!)
Distribution of Communities: density and distribution of contemporary
communities across the landscape.
Archaeologists attempt to work and pose questions at and between
these differing scales.
Household/Domestic Assemblage
Did someone live here?
Is it possible to subdivide the household?
, Households at Collections of Activity Areas
Household archaeology is a classic application of the Law of
Association
First Law of Geography: “Everything is related, but near things are
more related than distant things.” -Tobler
Example: Tenochtitlan (Aztec Capital)
Grid pattern, use of districts
African towns: snail shell pattern, grows outward from center
Sampling in Archaeology:
Systematic sampling: chooses one unit at random, then selects others
at equal intervals from the first one
Random Sampling: grid system and random number generaters to
decide dig spots
Stratified sampling: takes environment into account
Variability: settlement sizes vary across the landscape, related to political,
cultural, and other factors.
Important terms:
Carrying Capacity: the number and density of people that any tract of land
can support.
Site catchment area: zone of domestic and wild resources within easy
walking distance.
Site-exploitation territory: potential area from which food resources may be
obtained
Core: urban center, focus of internal trade
Periphery: supplies raw materials and filters ideas to margins
Margin: receives techniques and ideas through diffusion
Central Place Theory:
Designed to explain human settlements in terms of market areas
