Statistical analysis of associations between subsequent prehistoric settlement patterns

Abstract

By means of methods of point pattern analysis we study associations between subsequent prehistoric settlement patterns in the Rhineland around Cologne, between Protohistoric (Iron Age) and Gallo-Roman sites in the Picardie, between Early and Late Merovingian sites in the Thuringian Basin and between Neolithic sites in the south Polish loess zone. For the settlements in the Rhineland, the analysis shows a spatial association between the sites of Linear Pottery Culture and Rössen Culture in the sense that similar locations were used. In contrast to that, the positions of the Rössen Culture and the subsequent Michelsberg Culture are independent. The pattern of sites in the Picardie serves as an example of both obvious discontinuity and random mixture of sites. For the sites in south Poland some short-range attraction between Linear Pottery, Lengyel, and Funnel-necked Beaker Culture is found, which seems to show parallels to the observations for the Rhineland. For the Thuringian Basin, the statistical analysis indicates and quantifies the expansion of the settled areas in the alluvial valleys and the surrounding highlands for the change from the 6th to the 7th century CE.