Settlement Analysis in the Great Lakes Region

Abstract

Settlement pattern studies have traditionally dealt with such units as house, village, town, and city. In the prehistoric Great Lakes Region these units do not correspond to the types of archaeological information which can usually be recovered. Settlement pattern studies were made possible in this area by considering alternative parameters of settlement. Relative measurement of site size and density, the nature of the occupation, and the composition of the group were considered in establishing a series of settlement types. The settlement types of a particular time period for a certain prehistoric "culture" were used to interpret the settlement system of those people. The settlement systems for Late Archaic, Early, Middle, and Late Woodland periods were examined, and it was possible to trace systemic changes over time. These changes could be related to both environmental change and cultural influence from outside the region.