Settlement Clusters Research Articles

Urban Axis and City shape evaluation through spatial configuration in \u2018Lan Na\u2019 Northern Thailand Historic city

This paper revealed urban axis and city shape identity that influenced by its concepts and present activities issues in ‘Lan Na’ historic cities in northern Thailand. This study using space syntax technic called axial line analysis combined with GIS analysis, to examines how history geo-politic issues have influenced to its urban axis and network. Results show urban axis has highly coexisted with its city shape determined through high integrated axial lines. This city shape was, however, defined by its establishment concepts as ‘Sankh’, ‘Traiphum’ and freeform. Different shapes of urban axis have been determined by these concepts. As well as the largest public space in some ‘Lan Na’ historic cities, it directly attaches to high integrate lines that represent as urban axis core. However, depending on gradually develop influences, the function of public space in urban axis core has various types. Mostly, these spaces, have related to Buddhism religious usage or colonialism spaces. Settlement pattern using kernel analysis revealed that residents in every city settled in a tranquil area determined by space syntax. Additionally, settlement clusters adjacent to urban axis or high activities traffic. In summary, from reviewed historic cities in ‘Lan Na’, it found that this urban axis could be identified using multi-method. To enhance urban axis in historic cities, both object and subject aspect had to be revealed to apply as delicate historic conservation measures.

Kamyane-Zavallia, the Easternmost Linear Pottery Culture Settlement Ever Excavated

The paper treats recent field-work in the south-western Ukraine. Three new sites of Linear Pottery Culture were found in north Odessa region. Author argues that they constitute a cluster of settlements and indicate a regular Neolithic colonisation of the region. It pushes the limit of LPC area some 120 km to the east. One of the sites, Kamyane-Zavallia was excavated. A typical long pit was uncovered, alongside with a stone pavement and a narrow, deep trench. They could probably form a part of typical LPC house’s layout. Ceramic imports of Dudesti culture revealed long-distance contacts with farmers of Lower Danube valley.

Using Geografic Information System (Gis) Tools to Determine the Settlement Preferences in the Upper Wisłoka Valley and to Demarcate Potential Archeological Sites on the Example of Early Medieval Sites

The article’s objective is to conduct a diagnosis of early medieval settlement and to determine settlement clusters and preferences. The analysis results enable the preparation of maps depicting potential sites. The basic source for the data used in the analyses consists of information collected since the 1970s within the framework of the nationwide Polish Archaeological Record (PAR) project. The data have been subjected to analyses using Geographic Information System tools, such as QGIS, GRASS GIS or Saga GIS.

Ritual Practice and Exchange in the Late Prehispanic Western Pueblo Region: Insights from the Distribution and Deposition of Turquoise at Homol'ovi I

Archaeological and ethnographic evidence demonstrate the importance of turquoise among past and present Pueblo groups. In this paper, I examine the social uses of turquoise and other blue-green minerals at Homol'ovi I, a late prehispanic Hopi village and the most intensively excavated site within the Homol'ovi Settlement Cluster. I explore intrasite patterns of deposition (i.e., the content and context of turquoise deposits) and stylistic variation among objects in an effort to identify differential practices and material expressions within the pueblo. In addition, I assess the geologic provenance of turquoise from the site using high-precision measurements of lead and strontium isotopes. Recent studies indicate turquoise from at least two geologic locales—the Cerrillos Hills (New Mexico) and Canyon Creek (Arizona)—was acquired by Homol'ovi I inhabitants. These source investigations, coupled with those from other contemporaneous sites in the region, clarify the flow of turquoise across the late prehispanic Western Pueblo landscape and illuminate regional patterns of acquisition and exchange.

Spatial analysis and identification of environmental risk factors affecting the distribution of Indoplanorbis and Lymnaea species in semi-arid and irrigated areas of Haryana, India

Fasciolosis, amphistomosis and schistosomosis, transmitted by the freshwater snail species Indoplanorbis and Lymnaea, are important snail-borne diseases in India as they affect the entire spectrum of domestic animals causing substantial mortality and economic loss. Identifying any heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of these snail-borne diseases will allow for targeted disease control and efficient use of resources. The objectives of this study were threefold: (i) to describe and explore the spatial distribution of Indoplanorbis and Lymnaea in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts of Haryana, India (ii) to identify factors associated with occurrence of these freshwater snail species and (iii) to produce a map showing the predicted risk of occurrence of Lymnaea and Indoplanorbis spp. in the study area. Snails were collected from water bodies of 99 settlements out of a total of 453 in the study area. Kernel smoothing was used to generate a kernel ratio map while Kulldorff's spatial scan statistic was used to detect clusters of settlements with a high/low risk. Multivariable logistic regression showed that snails were almost ten times more likely to be present in rice-growing areas than in those not growing rice (OR 9.24) and that snails were less likely to be present with each 1km increase in distance from a canal (OR 0.86). The regression model was used to produce a map illustrating the predicted risk of snail occurrence. Since the distribution of vector snails mirrors the distribution of snail-borne parasitic diseases, such spatial analysis helps to determine the relative risk of snail-infestation as well as snail-borne diseases' distribution and planning of control activities.

Ceramics at Three Ancestral Caddo Sites in the Upper Neches River Basin, Smith County, Texas

The upper Neches River Basin in the Pineywoods and Post Oak Savannah of East Texas is one part of the southern Caddo area where populations of ancestral Caddo groups were notably higher during the Late Caddo period, ca. A.D. 1400-1680, than at other times over their ca. 1000 year settlement of the region. The Frankston phase is comprised of farmsteads, hamlets, and small villages in the Neches and Angelina river basins in East Texas. Other Frankston phase sites are represented by small residential settlements in dispersed agricultural communities, with small family and/or community cemeteries not used for long periods of time, such as at the Lang Pasture site (41AN38). Concentrations of Frankston phase sites in the upper Neches River basin seem to comprise base settlement clusters with middens, burials, and house structures, likely representing permanent settlements on streamside flats with fertile soils in the uplands. Other site types include scattered sherds, which perhaps are gathering stations in which pitted stones are found with a few sherds, and small campsites. The ceramic vessel sherds from three Frankston phase settlements in the upper Neches River basin are the subject of this article.

Closure and Dedication Practices in the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster, Northeastern Arizona

AbstractThis paper explores material patterns of structure and village closure among several villages in the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster on the Little Colorado River in northeastern Arizona, with special emphasis on Chevelon Pueblo. Excavations in nearly 200 structures within the cluster reveal a variety of closure practices, including burial of floors and floor features, structural burning, and object placement. It is argued that these patterns are part of a long Pueblo tradition of closure practices used, not to sever connections with a space, community, or landscape, but to continue material connections to these places. Some indications of dedication practices for plazas and features were uncovered at Homol’ovi I and will be discussed as part of broader memory-making practices within the community. Finally, a case will be made that the burning of Chevelon Pueblo may have been a purposeful act of forgetting.

Chronostratigraphy, site formation processes and pollen record of Ifri n'Etsedda, NE Morocco

The rock shelter of Ifri n'Etsedda is located at the southern flank of the Kebdana Mountains, North-east Morocco, at an altitude of around 300 m a.s.l. Twenty-one radiocarbon ages attest an occupation of the shelter between 10.0 and 6.0 ka cal BP. Comb decorated pottery, also known from other Late Neolithic sites of the area, suggest a later occupation. The presence of both Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic deposits offers the opportunity to study the Neolithic transition in the area, although the Ifri n'Etsedda deposits contain a short hiatus. Next to the Ifri Oudadane shelter west of the Melilla Peninsula, it is one of the few sites in the area allowing this approach.The paper combines stratigraphic, sedimentological and micromorphological studies in order to reconstruct the complex site formation processes. Pollen analysis offers exciting insights into environmental change, human land-use and subsistence strategies. A short overview about the artefact assemblage allows the reconstruction of occupation history and a first placement of the site within the archaeological context of the area.The Epipalaeolithic occupation seems to be clearly bipartite and the ongoing study of the lithic assemblage promises the possibility of further subdivision in the area for the first time. Discontinuities of the Epipalaeolithic might be connected to Early Holocene Rapid-Climate-Change-events (RCC). The Neolithic occurred at about 7.2 ka cal BP, marked by the appearance of pottery, perforated snails, ovicaprides and cereals. Hunting, gathering and the use of terrestrial molluscs still played an important role during the Neolithic, as the main occupation phase, the late Early Neolithic between 6.7 to about 6.0 ka cal BP, appears. Striking similarities to other contemporary sites such as El Zafrín at the nearby coast and the Mtlili open air sites within the lower reaches of the Moulouya River suggest that Ifri n'Etsedda is part of a larger settlement cluster, providing particular adaptations to mountainous landscapes.

Moated sites of the Iron Age in the Mun River Valley, Thailand: New discoveries using Google Earth

Archeological sites that are surrounded by moats in Northeast Thailand were identified in the early 20th century and have generated interest ever since. Subsequent research has revealed that these sites fluoresced during the Iron Age (c. 500B.C.–A.D. 600) but the purpose of the moats remains enigmatic. Pedestrian survey and aerial photographs have assisted in understanding the distribution of these sites across the landscape and has shown that they concentrate in the Mun and Chi Valleys of the Khorat Plateau. This paper presents the identification of 146 newly identified sites using Google Earth satellite imagery and identifies the presence of clusters of moated settlements in these regions through statistical analysis.

Quantifying the effects of settlement size on urban heat islands in fairly uniform geographic areas

City size is closely related to urban heat island intensity (UHII). To examine the relationship more accurately, it is necessary to eliminate the effects of landforms and climatic differences on urban heat islands (UHIs), through selecting settlement clusters in a large plain within a similar biome as the study area. This study selected 1124 land use clusters (cities, towns, and big rural settlements) and demarcated surrounding buffer areas; each buffer width equaled the radius of the clusters. The results showed that UHI increased with growth in cluster size, and the relationship could be described using a logarithmic function. For clusters with an area >2 km2, the city size accounted for about 60% of the variance in UHII during the night and only about 30% during the day. For clusters with areas of <2 km2, the uncertainty in the relationship increased significantly and the relationship became very weak. In addition, our study showed that daytime UHII was higher than nighttime UHII, particularly for large cities with a size >10 km2.

The Harling Site (41FN1): An Ancestral Caddo Mound Site on the Red River in Fannin County, Texas

The Harling site (41FN1), also earlier known as the Morgan Place, is a little-known ancestral Caddo mound site located on the first alluvial terrace of the Red River in the northeastern corner of Fannin County in East Texas. The only professional archaeological investigations at the Harling site took place in November-December 1960 by a University of Texas crew led by Dr. E. Mott Davis, in advance of proposed mound leveling by the landowner. Other than short summary articles by Davis, the results of the excavations and analyses of the recovered artifacts from the Harling site have not been previously published. The mound at the site was leveled in 1963 by the landowner, Mr. R. A. Harling. The single mound at the site was approximately 70 x 52 x 2.1 m in length, width, and height. There was a borrow pit area at the southern end of the mound. The mound at the Harling site appears to be the westernmost known of the more than 100 Caddo mounds that have been reported in East Texas. According to Davis (1996:463), the site is on the western frontier of Caddo communities in the Red River valley, and Caddo settlements are found at most only a few miles to the west of the site along the river, but are common to the east of the Harling mound. Based on the 1960 excavations of the mound and an examination at that time of the surrounding alluvial landforms—which were plowed—there was no substantial Caddo settlement at the Harling site, or any associated settlement cluster within ca. 2.5 km of the mound, although there were scattered artifacts from the surface dispersed both east and west of the mound. When R. L. Stephenson, E. O. Miller, and Lester Wilson visited the Harling site in August 1950, however, they commented that artifacts were abundant in the plowed fields around the mound. In particular they noted that the ceramic sherds were mostly plain and grog-tempered, and some of the sherds had a red slip (i.e., Sanders Plain). R. King Harris also collected artifacts from the site, primarily from an area to the west of the mound and near the edge of the alluvial terrace . He collected from this area W Gary dart points, Alba arrow points, plain sherds, and one Coles Creek Incised rim with an incised lip line. In the fields east of the mound, Harris collected a number of small triangular arrow points, suggesting that this area was where the latest Caddo occupation had taken place.

Composition and interpretation of stratified deposits in ancestral Hopi villages at Homol’ovi

During more than 20 years excavating in five of the seven ancestral Hopi villages comprising the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster in northeastern Arizona, an incredible diversity of depositional practices has been noted within and outside structures. This paper focuses on one particular class of deposits unique in its use of ash either as part of the composition of deposits or as caps to deep, complex deposits. The association of ash with ritual structures, rare or unusual objects, and structural fires is explored and explained as likely tied to purification ritual and attempts to forget the past. Recognition of these deposits was possible through a systematic study of stratigraphic patterns among all excavation units.

High-Density LiDAR Mapping of the Ancient City of Mayapán

A 2013 survey of a 40 square kilometer area surrounding Mayapán, Yucatan, Mexico used high-density LiDAR data to map prehispanic architecture and related natural features. Most of the area is covered by low canopy dense forest vegetation over karstic hilly terrain that impedes full coverage archaeological survey. We used LiDAR at 40 laser points per square meter to generate a bare earth digital elevation model (DEM). Results were evaluated with comparisons to previously mapped areas and with traditional archaeological survey methods for 38 settlement clusters outside of the city wall. Ground checking employed full coverage survey of selected 500 m grid squares, as well as documentation of the chronology and detail of new public and domestic settlement features and cenotes. Results identify the full extent of continued, contemporary Postclassic settlement (A.D. 1150–1450) outside of the city wall to at least 500 meters to the east, north, and west. New data also reveal an extensive modified landscape of terraformed residential hills, rejolladas, and dense settlement dating from Preclassic through Classic Periods. The LiDAR data also allow for the identification of rooms, benches, and stone property walls and lanes within the city.

A Jack's Reef Horizon Settlement Cluster in the Central Scioto Valley

In 1992, Mark Seeman proposed the existence of a Jack's Reef horizon in Ohio. Little professional research has been undertaken on domestic sites since then though. The Jack's Reef horizon subsumes the Intrusive Mound complex. Archaeological excavations for the Rockies Express-East gas pipeline project identified three sites in the central Scioto valley that provide evidence of Jack's Reef horizon occupations in floodplain and upland settings flanking the river valley. Radiocarbon dates confirm habitation associated with this late Late Woodland culture from cal A.D. 630–1000. Excavation and geophysical data reviewed in this article indicate intensive habitation of large base camps and small-scale residential bases, with secondary refuse disposal, distinctive ceramics, a curated bifacial lithic technology, and an expedient flake-tool technology.

What type of rural? Assessing the variations in life expectancy at birth at small area-level for a small population province using classes of locally defined settlement types.

BackgroundAlthough efforts have been made to articulate rural–urban health inequalities in recent years, results have been inconsistent due to different geographical scales used in these studies. Small-area level investigations of health inequalities will likely show more detailed pictures of health inequalities among diverse rural communities, but they are difficult to conduct, particularly in a small population region. The objectives of this study were: 1) to compare life expectancy at birth for females and males across small-areas classified by locally defined settlement types for a small province in Canada; 2) to assess whether any of the settlement types explains variations in life expectancy over and above the extent of socioeconomic disadvantage and social isolation; and 3) to examine variations in life expectancies within a (larger) area unit used as the basis of health inequality investigations in previous studies.MethodsSeven settlement types were determined for the ‘community’ units based on population per-kilometre-road density and settlement forms. Mean life expectancies at birth for both genders were compared by settlement type, both for the entire province and within the Halifax Regional Municipality—the province's only census designated metropolitan area, but also contains rural settlements. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the statistical associations between life expectancy and the settlement types, adjusting for indicators of community-level deprivation.ResultsWhile types of communities considered as ‘rural’ generally had lower life expectancy for both genders, the effects of living in any settlement type were attenuated once adjusted for socioeconomic deprivation and social isolation. An exception was the village and settlement cluster type, which had additionally negative effects on health for females. There were some variations observed within the Halifax Regional Municipality, suggesting the importance of further investigating a variety of health and disease outcomes at smaller area-levels than those employed in previous studies.ConclusionsThis paper highlighted the importance of further articulating the differences in the characteristics of rural at finer area-levels and the differential influence they may have on health. Further efforts are desirable to overcome various data challenges in order to extend the investigation of health inequalities to hard-to-study provinces.

Caddo Ceramics from Mound Deposits at the Shelby Mound Site (41CP71) on Greasy Creek, Camp County, Texas

Archaeological evidence from 15th to 17th century (dating from ca. A.D. 1430-1680) Caddo sites that have been investigated in the Big Cypress Creek and Sabine River basins of northeastern Texas indicate that many of the components have been identified as belonging to the Titus phase. They represent permanent, year-round, settlements of horticultural or agricultural peoples with distinctive cultural practices and material culture. The 15th to 17th century archaeological record in these two basins “refers to a number of distinctive socio-cultural groups, not a single Caddo group; these groups or communities were surely related and/or affiliated by kinship, marriage, and social interaction." There are several clusters of settlements that apparently represent parts of contemporaneous small communities. A political community as used here is a cluster of interrelated settlements and associated cemeteries that are centered on a key site or group of sites distinguished by public architecture (i.e., earthen mounds) and large domestic village areas. The Shelby Mound site is one of the premier sites in a political community centered in the Greasy Creek basin and neighboring Big Cypress Creek basin. The social and cultural diversity that probably existed among Titus phase cultural groups is matched by the stylistic and functional diversity in Titus phase material culture, particularly in the manufacture and use of fine ware and utility ware ceramics, and the ceramic tradition is the surest grounds for evaluating attribution of archaeological components to the Titus phase. It is the character of their stylistically unique material culture, coupled with the development of distinctive mortuary rituals and social and religious practices centered on the widespread use of community cemeteries and mound ceremonialism as means to mark social identities, that most readily sets these Caddo groups apart from their neighbors in East and Northeast Texas and in the Red River basin to the north and east. This article discusses the analysis of the plain and decorated ceramic sherds (focusing on the latter) from the mound deposits at the Shelby Mound site in the Robert L. Turner collection. Because of the stratified nature of the mound deposits it is possible that temporal changes in the stylistic character of the utility wares and fine wares in use at the site can be detected, and full documentation of the assemblage at Shelby Mound will be key in stylistic comparisons of the ceramic traditions among contemporaneous Titus phase communities in the Big Cypress Creek basin and the mid-Sabine River basin.

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG DESIGN, TIME, SOURCE, AND GLYPHS ON PREHISPANIC JEDDITO YELLOW WARE

This paper summarizes analysis of 236 Jeddito Yellow Ware bowls to better understand the nature of production, exchange, and social roles of Jeddito Yellow Ware bowls within their respective communities. I examine changes in design structure of Hopi yellow ware during 300 years of production prior to the establishment of Spanish missions in 1629. Patterns in production and exchange of Jeddito Yellow Ware have emerged by comparing bowls from Hopi Mesa villages—the presumed production area—to off-mesa villages, especially villages in the Homol'ovi Settlement Cluster. These patterns allow a more nuanced approach to understanding the nature and production level of yellow ware pottery within the producing community and a better understanding of social ties with importing communities that dictated parameters of innovation in bowl decoration. These analyses also indicate yellow ware bowls produced after 1400, (when the majority of regional villages to which yellow ware was exchanged were abandoned), significantly increased in size suggesting primary involvement in commensal activities required to integrate increasingly diverse communities. Along with involvement in commensal activities, changes in yellow ware vessel form were strongly influenced by groups migrating into these communities. In this regard, the analysis reveals two moments of transformation in design structure, related to and explained by periods of substantial social change in Hopi Mesa communities.

The archaeological record of the Gravettian open air site Krems-Wachtberg

Since 2005, annual excavation campaigns have been conducted at the open air site of Krems-Wachtberg in eastern Austria. This paper provides an overview of the preliminary archaeological results, including a presentation of the site's Upper Palaeolithic features and find inventories, as well as a discussion of its position within the Gravettian of the Middle Danube region.The site is characterized by a well-developed occupation layer with associated features like hearths and burials. From a local perspective, the station is part of an extensive Gravettian settlement cluster on the Wachtberg promontory. Beyond that, more far-ranging connections can be established to sites of the older Gravettian forming the regional group of the Pavlovian. These analogies apply to topographic position and economic factors, as well as to technological and typological criteria of the lithic inventories. Furthermore, parallels in burial rituals and art are evident.

Vegetation change during the Bronze Age studied in a multi-proxy approach: use of wood linked to charcoal analysis

During recent archaeological excavations in the alpine valley of Montafon, western Austria, a Bronze and early Iron Age settlement cluster located at about 1,000 m a.s.l. was excavated. The human impact on the woodland resulting from these prehistoric settlement activities has been evaluated by the analysis of charred plant macro remains from cultural layers from a hilltop settlement site and two other close-by settlements, all of them encompassing the Early and Middle Bronze Age (19th to 15th century cal. b.c.) and early Iron Age (6th/5th century cal. b.c.). Charred seeds and fruits have provided information on the supply of foodstuff while charcoal (anthracological) analyses of firewood have revealed the use of wood and consequently the changes in local woods. The latter analyses suggest that the spruce-fir woodland (Piceeto-Abietetum) was gradually cleared from the Early Bronze Age. During the Middle Bronze Age large amounts of Pinus sylvestris (pine), Betula (birch), Corylus avellana (hazel) and Sorbus (rowan) with some Picea abies (spruce) characterized the woods, and early succession stages indicate clearings. These anthracological studies are corroborated by pollen studies disclosing clearings in the woods since the Early Bronze Age, which gradually expanded during the Middle Bronze Age. Furthermore, several charcoals from a Middle Bronze Age hearth seem to be of the same age, and the pattern of their annual growth-rings suggests the pollarding of broadleaved trees.

L'occupation humaine de la vallée du Guringin (plaine du Séno, Mali)

Recent archaeological survey conducted in Mali in the Guringin Valley, located in the Séno Plain, as well as at the top of the nearby Bandiagara Escarpment, has produced evidence allowing the characterisation of numerous settlement sites and locations at which prehistoric metallurgy was practised. The latter have abundant surface material, mainly consisting of ceramics that show a considerable diversity of decoration. Analysis of the surface pottery assemblages, complemented by that of stratified assemblages from a test pit at one of the sites, indicates important inter-site differences. The results suggest that water, a rare and precious resource in this sandy Sudano-Sahelian plain, attracted the settlement of different populations from Neolithic times to the present, with a particular density of occupation during the first and early second millennia AD. Groups of sites of similar modest size evoke the rural settlements of the Méma area of Mali more than the settlement clusters of the Inland Niger Delta, which are defined by large sites surrounded by satellite settlements in a context of proto-urbanisation.