Complex Settlement Research Articles

PALĄ SIEBIE W OGNIU, GDY UMRZE IM KRÓL LUB WÓDZ – I PALĄ RÓWNIEŻ JEGO WIERZCHOWCE. WCZESNOŚREDNIOWIECZNY POCHÓWEK CIAŁOPALNY ZE SZCZĄTKAMI KONIA Z CHODLIKA, POW. OPOLSKI, WOJ. LUBELSKIE

The article presents the results of research into an early medieval kurgan in Chodlik, Karczmiska county, where cremated human and horse remains were discovered. The settlement complex in Chodlik (8th-10th c.) forms a vast hillfort of more than 8 ha and the surrounding hamlets. For over a century, it has been subjected to archaeological excavations but it was not until recently that the related cremation burial sites were identified. The first kurgan, examined in 2010, contained buried remains of a human and a horse, most probably buried at a stake together. The other objects found in the upper part of the kurgan included pieces of clay vessels and bronze elements of a horse tack. By means of radiocarbon dating, the burial site’s chronology has been established as the 8th-9th centuries. The text presents comparative analyses with other famous discoveries of the type and considerations of the importance of horses to the early medieval Slavs.

Papua New Guinean Genomes Reveal the Complex Settlement of North Sahul.

The settlement of Sahul, the lost continent of Oceania, remains one of the most ancient and debated human migrations. Modern New Guineans inherited a unique genetic diversity tracing back 50,000 years, and yet there is currently no model reconstructing their past population dynamics. We generated 58 new whole-genome sequences from Papua New Guinea, filling geographical gaps in previous sampling, specifically to address alternative scenarios of the initial migration to Sahul and the settlement of New Guinea. Here, we present the first genomic models for the settlement of northeast Sahul considering one or two migrations from Wallacea. Both models fit our data set, reinforcing the idea that ancestral groups to New Guinean and Indigenous Australians split early, potentially during their migration in Wallacea where the northern route could have been favored. The earliest period of human presence in Sahul was an era of interactions and gene flow between related but already differentiated groups, from whom all modern New Guineans, Bismarck islanders, and Indigenous Australians descend. The settlement of New Guinea was probably initiated from its southeast region, where the oldest archaeological sites have been found. This was followed by two migrations into the south and north lowlands that ultimately reached the west and east highlands. We also identify ancient gene flows between populations in New Guinea, Australia, East Indonesia, and the Bismarck Archipelago, emphasizing the fact that the anthropological landscape during the early period of Sahul settlement was highly dynamic rather than the traditional view of extensive isolation.

Ernis (Ünseli) Settlement Complex on the northern shore of Lake Van: From the Early Bronze (Kura-Araxes) to the Late Iron Age (Achaemenid)

Makalede, Van Gölü’nün kuzey kıyısında yer alan Ernis (Ünseli) yerleşim kompleksinde yaptığımız yüzey araştırması ve daha önceden yapılmış çalışmaların sonuçları birlikte değerlendirilmiştir. Yerleşimde ilk çalışma Birinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında N. J. Marr tarafından yapılan Evditepe Mezarlığı (Varşak Tepe-Ernis) kazısıdır. K. ve S. Lake 1938 yılında alana kısa bir ziyaret gerçekleştirmiştir. 1962-1964 yılları arasında A. Erzen ve E. Bilgiç tarafından Evditepe ve Alacahan (Ernis) mezarlıklarında kazı yapılmıştır. Ch. Burney 1956 yılındaki yüzey araştırması sırasında Aşağı Keçikıran istasyonunu incelemiştir. Son olarak alanda V. Sevin ve tarafımızdan sistemli bir yüzey araştırması yapılmıştır (1997, 2002-2008). Ernis yerleşim kompleksi Orta Tunç Çağı’ndaki kesinti dışında, Erken Tunç Çağ’ından (Kura-Aras) Geç Demir Çağ’ına (Akhaimenid) değin uzanan bir süreç içindeki yerleşimleri kapsar. Bunlar, Evditepe Kura-Aras yerleşimi; Evditepe ve Alacahan Erken Demir Çağ (pre-Urartu) kaleleri ve mezarlıkları; Yukarı Keçikıran Urartu kült yapısı ve yol istasyonu (?), ve Aşağı Keçikıran Geç Demir Çağ (Akhaimenid) istasyonu’dur.

Новый позднескифский некрополь Танагельды в Предгорном Крыму

This is the first publication of the archaeological material obtained from the research of the necropolis Tanageldy of 2nd—1st centuries BC in the Piedmont Crimea. The expedition of the Scythian Neapolis Museum-Reserve in 2017 explored 3 collective ground crypts on the necropolis’s territory which belongs to a large settlement complex of ancient times in the city of Kara-Tau. Observations obtained in the course of a detailed anthropological analysis of the buried are curious. Mainly young women, adolescents and children were buried in the underground crypts, the bones of many of them reflect the consequences of routine hard physical labor. This phenomenon can be associated with the developed terraced farming, traces of which were found on the territory of the settlement complex. In one of the crypts, a skull of a man was discovered, with traces of three surgical interventions and separated from the body in ancient times.

Археозоологические данные погребальных и поселенческих комплексов хунну в Забайкалье: вопросы сопоставления

At present, significant archaeozoological material has been accumulated from the Transbaikal archaeological sites of the Xiongnu era. This material was obtained both from settlement complexes and from burial structures. An important point is the comparison of these functionally different sites. One of the directions in this case is the correlation of archaeozoological materials. Our work provides information on the osteological collection from the Mangirtuy settlement, data on the sacrificial bone remains of animals from the graves of the Sudzhinsky burial ground in Ilmovaya Pad, Nur-Tukhum and Gudzhir-Myge. Information on the burial sites of Tsaram and Egiin-Gol is also used. Using the example of cattle, we consider the possibility of attribution of bone remains (skulls and phalanges), their description and interpretation. Comparison of information from functionally different sites allows us to talk about the main importance of the producing economy in the Xiongnu husbandry. Cattle-breeding was the leading branch for the bulk of the population. The same domestic ungulate was also a sacrificial animal during the burial practices of the Xiongnu.

Rural Neighborhood of Azak According to Numismatic and Ceramic Findings. Interaction between the City and the Rural Population

The article describes the development of the rural district of Azak, the mutual interaction between the city and its rural settlements. The subject of consideration is the ceramic complex of rural settlements, its structure, and the peculiarities of the pottery craft development in small towns and villages. The intensity of contacts of rural settlements with the center and the property wealth of the population of the periphery are also estimated. These data complement the numismatic findings, which allow us to determine the degree of retail trade development in rural settlements, as well as to clarify the important question of the time of disappearance of the rural district of Azak by the end of the 1st quarter of the 15th century. Other categories of materials (weapons, jewelry and costume parts, agricultural equipment, sphragistics) are briefly described. The data of archaeology and written sources are also compared in this research. Conclusions are drawn about the cultural proximity of the rural and ordinary urban population of Azak, about the free population living in the territory of the rural district of Azak with average property wealth, about the synchronicity of the city and its district disappearance.

The evolution of agro-urbanism: A case study from Angkor, Cambodia

The vast agro-urban settlements that developed in the humid tropics of Mesoamerica and Asia contained both elite civic-ceremonial spaces and sprawling metropolitan areas. Recent studies have suggested that both local autonomy and elite policies facilitated the development of these settlements; however, studies have been limited by a lack of detail in considering how, when, and why these factors contributed to the evolution of these sites. In this paper, we use a fine-grained diachronic analysis of Angkor’s landscape to identify both the state-level policies and infrastructure and bottom-up organization that spurred the growth of Angkor as the world’s most extensive pre-industrial settlement complex. This degree of diachronic detail is unique for the ancient world. We observe that Angkor’s low-density metropolitan area and higher-density civic-ceremonial center grew at different rates and independently of one another. While local historical factors contributed to these developments, we argue that future comparative studies might identify similar patterns.

Handmade Pottery From the Late Archaic Complex of Viktorivka I

In the article a ceramic complex from the ashpit and other structures of the Late Archaic period from Viktorivka I, located on the Right bank of the Berezan estuary, is presented. The handmade pottery from the complex is considered on the background of all the household ceramics of the monument. By means of a comprehensive study of handmade pottery fragments and comparing it with materials from the neighboring Archaic sites (Borysthenes, Velyka Chornomorka II, Beikush, etc.), the authors show the handmade pottery of Viktorivka I archaeological complex. Mass material from the Late Archaic layers of the settlement complexes and the sanctuary of Viktorivka I allows determining those quantitative indicators that are chronological indicators for the Borysthenes suburb settlements. Ashpit No. 1 is the main object of study at the trench “Г” of Viktorivka I sanctuary. Its stratigraphy suggests that it was filled unevenly. Most of the finds are in the upper ash layer, which is dated from the second half of the 6th century to the end of the first third of the 5th century BC. The classification of the handmade pottery from the filling of ashpit No. 1 made it possible to distinguish the main types of handmade pottery: pots of two types (29 %); jar-shaped vessels of two types (16 %); cups (2 %); bowls of three types (8 %). The main feature of the ashpit No. 1 ceramic complex – a large number (46 %) of the vessels of small diameter bottoms with pre-bottom parts and walls. Most of them have soot residues on their inner surfaces. These visual characteristics and almost complete absence of lamp fragments put forward the suggestion that the bottoms of the vessels served as lamps. 4 % of handmade pottery of the ashpit No. 1 filling are small, poorly profiled jar-shaped vessels, which are rarely found among household pottery. One gets the impression that these two types of handmade vessels can be decisive in the study of ash pits. With a general assessment of the handmade pottery collection of the Viktorivka I complex, it is not difficult to notice that its overwhelming majority (pots with a bell, bottoms-lamps, cups, small jar-shaped vessels, bowls of two types) belong to the «Greek» genetic group by origin. Moreover, the assortment of handmade tableware from Viktorivka I complex is identical to the pottery of Borysthenes. The non-Greek group consists of ceramics, which has analogies among the dishes of the western neighbors of Borysthenes and its suburb area (jar-shaped vessels, bowls with ribs and cannelures). K. K. Marchenko named such pottery type as “Thracian” (Марченко 1988, с. 85). A wide range of modern analogies confirm such an opinion.

Hearths and hearth structures of the Pushkari I Upper Paleolithic settlement

At the Pushkari I Upper Paleolithic settlement three settlement complexes with dwellings, activity areas, and hearths have been excavated. All eight hearth of the Pushkari I site located in different parts of the cultural horizon are however territorially close to each other and identical as to their geological and cultural attribution. A comparative analysis of the hearths was aimed on reconstruction of ways of their construction and using. The study was based on a simple indication of the location of hearths found on three part of the settlement (Excavations II, V and VII) —outside and inside dwellings. As a result of the study, three groups of hearth structures, which were used in different ways, were identified. The most important feature of the “outdoor” hearths is numerous pits and depressions at their base. Investigating their shape, carbonaceous bone remains, and ethnogra- phic examples, we concluded that the large outdoor hearths were used as cooking areas. Meat could be fried on bones inserted vertically into the hearths. In some cases the hearths could be the centers of working activity areas (Excavation V). The hearths inside the dwellings were small in size and were surrounded by a number of specially working activity areas. These hearths were primarily used for dwelling heating (Excavations II and V). They could also carry some economic functions. The hearth inside the dwelling (Excavation VII) has all the characteristics of an external “kitchen” hearth, but also it had a secondary carbonaceous filling brought from outside. Such a hearth structure could be a heating and kitchen object in a special-purpose dwelling.

A legjelentősebb hazai fürdővárosok településszerkezeti jellemzőinek vizsgálata

In our research we investigate the complex settlement characteristics and specialities of the best-known Hungarian spa cities – Bük, Gyula, Harkány, Hajdúszoboszló, Hévíz, Sárvár and Zalakaros – that attract the most guests and offer the highest standard in accordance with the suprastructure of health tourism. These settlements have outstanding valuable tourism traditions, where the current structure was created over many decades. The spa cities carry out certain improvements continuously in order to maintain their leading role within the health tourism market. However, these developments should be planned in a complex way, with enhanced protection of natural resources, by emphasizing the importance of a system approach. Harmonious and sustainable development can therefore be accomplished in the long run, and can preserve local conditions, primarily ecological unity and the health of the specific mineral water base. In addition, planning based on local conditions and the priority of the interests of the local communities can also lead spa cities toward conscious long-term sustainability. These particularities have an effect on the settlement structure of the spa cities, the research of which ensures new opportunities in the conscious developments of the settlements.

Automatic Delineation of Urban Growth Boundaries Based on Topographic Data Using Germany as a Case Study

Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is a growth management policy that designates specific areas where growth should be concentrated in order to avoid urban sprawl. The objective of such a boundary is to protect agricultural land, open spaces and the natural environment, as well as to use existing infrastructure and public services more efficiently. Due to the inherent heterogeneity and complexity of settlements, UGBs in Germany are currently created manually by experts. Therefore, every dataset is linked to a specific area, investigation period and dedicated use. Clearly, up-to-date, homogeneous, meaningful and cost-efficient delineations created automatically are needed to avoid this reliance on manually or semi-automatically generated delineations. Here, we present an aggregative method to produce UGBs using building footprints and generally available topographic data as inputs. It was applied to study areas in Frankfurt/Main, the Hanover region and rural Brandenburg while taking full account of Germany’s planning and legal framework for spatial development. Our method is able to compensate for most of the weaknesses of available UGB data and to significantly raise the accuracy of UGBs in Germany. Therefore, it represents a valuable tool for generating basic data for future studies. Application elsewhere is also conceivable by regionalising the employed parameters.

Diachronic modeling of the population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex.

Angkor is one of the world's largest premodern settlement complexes (9th to 15th centuries CE), but to date, no comprehensive demographic study has been completed, and key aspects of its population and demographic history remain unknown. Here, we combine lidar, archaeological excavation data, radiocarbon dates, and machine learning algorithms to create maps that model the development of the city and its population growth through time. We conclude that the Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee in the 13th century CE. This granular, diachronic, paleodemographic model of the Angkor complex can be applied to any ancient civilization.

Diachronic modeling ofthe population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex

Diachronic modeling ofthe population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex

Analysis of emission estimates using the Atmospheric Pollution Index in the Baikal Natural Territory

Over the past few years, the Irkutsk Region has been included in the priority list of territories with the maximum degree of air pollution. In this case, the Atmospheric Pollution Index is used as the main criterion. In this work, the calculation of the complex index of atmospheric pollution formed during the operation of the heat supply system in the settlement of Listvyanka of the Irkutsk region is made. Heat consumers are multi-apartment residential buildings, public and business buildings. Heat supply of Listvyanka is carried out from four boiler houses. The API analysis showed that during the operation of the fuel and energy complex of small settlements, the degree of air pollution can be classified as “low”. Thus, the contribution of the fuel and energy complex to the total background air pollution can be considered insignificant.

Pottery production of the settlement complex of Brigetio

Abstract of PhD thesis submitted in 2020 to the Archaeology Doctoral Programme, Doctoral School of History, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest under the supervision of László Borhy.

Test excavation of the “pseudo-ditch” system of the Late Neolithic settlement complex at Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hungarian Plain

In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the Late Neolithic site of Öcsöd-Kováshalom over a roughly 65 ha large area. An enclosure system of three concentric semi-circular ditches was detected around the tell-like mound that formed the core of the settlement. In order to resolve these issues, we organised a small field school excavation with the support of the RGK and with the participation of the archaeology students of the ELTE Institute of Archaeological Sciences between July 13 and 25, 2020. We opened an 8×2 m trial trench across the north-eastern part of the innermost ditch appearing on the magnetogram. We uncovered a ditch segment with a V-shaped cross-section, a width of 315 cm and a depth of 295 cm. We recovered a total of 17,430 finds with a weight of 194.4 kg (pottery sherds, daub, animal bones, bone tools, chipped and polished stone implements, quern stones, mussels, and ochre). In our preliminary report, we made a reconstruction of infilling process based on the quantitative distribution of the finds (frequency and weight data) and the different characteristics of the fill layers.

A speakeasy bar in an urban settlement as a heterotopia space

Speakeasies or illegal drinking establishments were widespread during the Prohibition Era in the 1920s in the United States of America. Since the US government banned the consumption, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol, Speakeasies’ underground nature created a new environment for people to drink and socialize. There is no identification of these places, solely relying on word of mouth to gain their popularity. There are similarities between the concept of speakeasies and heterotopia—Michel Foucault described it as a placeless place or a world inside a world. The term heterotopia is often used to illustrate disturbance in the surrounding environment. Are there correlations between speakeasy and heterotopia? Is speakeasy a form of heterotopia? This paper examines the correlation of heterotopia and speakeasy bars, as well as the question of whether speakeasy is a form of a heterotopia place. To a further extent, the discussion on social constraints occurring from the existence of a speakeasy bar in a settlement complex will be investigated through six heterotopia principles coined by Foucault. Through interviews and data observations in Oj’s Tavern, Bandung, this paper offers a new discussion on urban settlement and its connection to the heterotopia, and what it implies to the surrounding environment.

Находки косторезного производства на стоянке Югачи-2 в Аскизском районе Республики Хакасия

The article presents an analysis of the raw materials of carved bones from the Yugachi-2 site. In the course of field archaeological works, the recovered materials made it possible to interpret the studied object as a settlement complex. The items with bone carving are described. The total number of artifacts made of horn and bone is 79 specimens, which were recovered from 14 out of 74 excavation pits, their brief description is provided. Spatial analysis bone carving products distribution was carried out at excavation pit No. 9 of excavation trench No. 3. Most of the finished products and blanks for bone carving come from this site. Weapons, tools and ornaments are the most interesting finds among the found objects. The horny frontal middle plate of the compound bow deserves special notice in the armament category. Bows with similar frontal rigid plates have parallels in the burial complexes of the Altai Mountains dating from the first half of the 1st millennium AD. Hence, this object can be dated to the 3rd-5th centuries AD. A bony stemmed arrowhead was also found. The ornament category contains a pendant from a maral tooth. The labor tools are represented by tools for untie knots (kochedygi), a borer, and, probably, a handle fragment. The derived information provide the insight into bone carving technology at the settlement sites of the transitional Tagar-Tashtyk period and its place in the culture of the ancient population living at the foothills of the Western Sayan Mountains, in the periphery of the taiga and forest-steppe zones, in the Askiz River basin.

Новые археологические открытия в правобережном Прииртышье

The paper presents the results of archaeological research in 2021 in the Vengerovo district, Novosibirsk region. Large-scale works were carried out at three sites, i.e. burial, settlement and ritual complexes of Tartas-1, Ust-Tartas-2, and Tartas-5 settlement. Burials of the Early-Developed Bronze Age and Early Neolithic fish pit were investigated. New data and materials from the Andronovo (Fedorovo) settlement complex were obtained.

История освоения озерных пространств Омской области западносибирскими татарами в конце XVII – начале XXI века (на примере озер Казатово и Рахтово)

The article is based on the research materials of the expeditions in the summer and autumn of2021 to the Bolsherechensky and Tevrizsky Districts of the Omsk Region. Oral information is supplemented by archival documents. The purpose of the work is to introduce new data on the expansion of lake areas and territories around them by the Tatars into scientific circulation. Determination of the presence or absence of the features in the expansion of the lake areas Kazatovo and Rakhtovo. New data are expanding knowledge about the use of natural resources of the West Siberian Tatars. The first part provides information on the lakes and the use of their resources according to the written sources of the late 18th-19th centuries. Plan, toponymy, infrastructure of Lakes Kazatovo and Rakhtovo, and the use of their resources in the late 20th-early 21st centuries are further described. The use of natural resources of neighboring lake is also described. Conclusions are made that Lakes Kazatovo and Rakhtovo are centers of a microdistrict including small swamp reservoirs, watercourses, wetlands, dry areas of meander scars. On the example of ecosystem exploitation, Lakes Kazatovo and Rakhtovo show two types of expansion of the lake areas and creation of infrastructure. In the first case, the lake created an isolated arable lands, then the settlement complex, in the second—the expansion of lake areas was made for commercial purposes. The observation made by the author on the materials of the Tyumen Region is confirmed in that, with an extensive type of farming, water bodies located at significant distances can also be used. This is shown on the example of Lake Rakhtovo. In one period, the use of its resources was assigned to the Tatars living 20 or even more kilometers away from it.