Settlement Dynamics Research Articles

Modelling the spatial dynamics of Mainland China-born migrants in Australia

ABSTRACTOver the past two decades, migration from Mainland China (MC) to Australia has become increasingly significant. In contrast to previous migrant waves, post-2000 MC-born migrants in Australia are more likely to be highly skilled and/or financially independent, and often migrate under skilled, business and investment visa programs. Though scholarship has explored various facets of MC-born migrants’ settlement in Australian cities, the spatial dynamics of settlement, and change over time associated with these shifts in socio-economic profile, have remained unexplored. This paper draws on three census periods, and employs a local indicator of spatial autocorrelation together with a geographically weighted regression. We conclude that the settlement patterns of MC-born migrants in Australia do not follow the ‘straight-line’ assumptions of spatial assimilation theory, nor are they tied explicitly to socio-economic factors in the majority of capital cities. Instead, the settlement patterns of MC-born migrants vary by city: Sydney and Melbourne display the most spatially segmented settlement patterns; while Adelaide and Perth exhibit increasing levels of concentration as the number of MC-born migrants grows. Results indicate that while MC-born migrants are somewhat likely to cluster at the early stage of group formation, within-group spatial patterns are articulated by social attributes as the group grows in size and significance in a metropolitan context.

Early and Middle Pleistocene climate-environment conditions in Central Europe and the hominin settlement record

This paper focuses on the interactions between hominin settlements and the palaeoecological contexts of the Early/Middle Pleistocene, in the central European lowlands and highlands. The palaeoenvironmental data from twenty-one natural sites with pollen, vertebrate and/or mollusc records (e.g. Voigstedt, Dethlingen, Ossówka) are compared and discussed in regard to seventeen localities with clear hominin occurrence (e.g. Kärlich, Stránská skála, Bilzingsleben, Vértesszölös, Schöningen). This contribution provides the first attempt of a large scale qualitative compilation of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data from key, multidisciplinary investigated late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene archaeological and non-archaeological sequences in Central Europe, mostly from MIS 22 to MIS 9. As such, this work is key for our understanding of the potential impact of climate-environment conditions upon hominin settlement dynamics vs. sites preservation in the region.Lower Palaeolithic hominin in Central Europe occupied a variety of environments, and despite the fragmentary nature of the record, warm and humid climate and partly forested landscapes appear as the most favourable conditions for hominin settlements.Prior to 0.5 Ma the record is however limited and the earliest hominin settlements of Central Europe appear largely unexplored in comparison to other European regions. During MIS 11-9, the increase of both natural and anthropogenic records seems to highlight the better sedimentary record from that time period in comparison to the previous ones, and lessens the assumption of an intensification of hominin settlement and increase of population during MIS 11-9 in Central Europe, such as proposed in Western Europe.

Bureaucratic reforms on the frontier: Zooarchaeological and historical perspectives on the 1767 Jesuit Expulsion in the Pimería Alta

Spanish colonialism in the Americas went through major periods of change as imperial goals shifted in response to European politics. The 1767 Jesuit Expulsion represents one widespread colonial reform where an entire religious administration was replaced within a year. The expulsion and subsequent economic reforms altered the relationships between indigenous people in Jesuit mission communities and surrounding colonial settlements. Archaeological data offer a new perspective on the impacts of this global transition at the local level in the northern Pimería Alta, encompassing what is now Arizona and Sonora. We use zooarchaeological and historical evidence to evaluate the resilience of colonial settlements following the expulsion and review its effects on indigenous O’odham groups living at these sites. The proportions of animal use at colonial settlements remained consistent before and after the expulsion. The scale of ranching activities, however, intensified under Franciscan direction in the decades following the expulsion. Local dynamics, including population loss and raiding violence, shaped settlement dynamics more than imperial policy. We separate settlement resilience from O’odham persistence under Spanish colonialism and assess the value and limits of resilience in relation to indigenous experiences at interdependent colonial settlements. Distinguishing indigenous persistence from systemic resilience adds nuance to the use of resilience within colonial archaeology scholarship.

Spatial predictive modeling of prehistoric sites in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands based on graph similarity analysis

Abstract This paper presented a new method for identifying promising areas for archaeological research. The method is based on graph analysis that iteratively compares and manipulates Hamming distances between graphs of input geographical parameters and graphs of human activity data in various historical periods. The weights learned from the comparison was used to build a prediction model to estimate the potential presence of an archaeological site of a certain time period in a given cadaster. This was applied in the Bohemian Moravian Highlands region based on the most complete archaeological dataset of the area. Resulting maps were analyzed from the archaeological and historical point of view to test against the existing knowledge of prehistoric population movement in the region. Overall, the method proved to overcome problems such as fragmentary inputs and is a good candidate for application in smaller and geographically diverse research areas. The aim of this work was to contribute to the methodology of the prediction of historical human activity, to facilitate greater comprehension of past local settlement dynamics, and to possibly ease the protection of cultural heritage.

Human Settlement Dynamics in the Bamenda III Municipality, North West Region, Cameroon

Human Settlement Dynamics in the Bamenda III Municipality, North West Region, Cameroon

Human Settlement Dynamics in the Bamenda III Municipality, North West Region, Cameroon

Human Settlement Dynamics in the Bamenda III Municipality, North West Region, Cameroon

Disruption in an alluvial landscape: Settlement and environment dynamics on the alluvium of the river Dyje at the Pohansko archaeological site (Czech Republic)

Floodplain alluvia can provide a combination of natural and anthropogenic evidence of environmental changes, allowing to directly examine their evolution in relation to settlement dynamics. Such evidence is recorded, for example, at the archaeological site Pohansko by the town of Břeclav, a former centre of the Great Moravian Empire. The aim of our research was to explore what conditions on the floodplain could have caused the abandonment of this environment. Special attention was paid to the climax of the floodplain's occupation during the times of the Great Moravian Empire (AD 836–906) and to the decline of its occupation in the following centuries. The environmental record at the Pohansko site starts in the 7th century BC. From the Iron Age onwards (Hallstatt and La Tène periods) there is evidence of non-agricultural human activities. Since the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC to at least the second half of the 10th century AD, there is no record of any floodplain aggradation or flooding at the site. Later, both the archaeological and palaeoecological records on the floodplain probably got exposed and redeposited. The result is a mechanically disturbed layer that is synchronous with soil horizons and subsequent Early Mediaeval cultural layers covering sandy elevations. For an unknown reason, the site was deserted for many centuries after the end of the 10th century AD. During the High Mediaeval period and the early Modern Era, especially since the 15th century AD, overbank deposits covered the floodplain. Intensified human impact in the river catchment and climate change during the Little Ice Age were the main triggers of this change. The results correlate with the written historical sources pertaining to this area, which speak about an increasing frequency of flooding in the Czech lands since the 14th century, and especially in the second half of the 16th century. As a result, these sites became unsuitable for settlement and abandoned.

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany.

Colluvial deposits, as the correlate sediments of human-induced soil erosion, depict an excellent archive of land use and landscape history as indicators of human–environment interactions. This study establishes a chronostratigraphy of colluvial deposits and reconstructs past land use dynamics in the Swabian Jura, the Baar and the Black Forest in SW Germany. In the agriculturally favourable Baar area multiple main phases of colluvial deposition, and thus intensified land use, can be identified from the Neolithic to the Modern times. In the unfavourable Swabian Jura increased colluvial deposition began later compared to the more favourable areas in the Baar. The same holds true for the unfavourable areas of the Black Forest, but intensified land use can only be reconstructed for the Middle Ages and Early Modern times instead of for the Bronze and Iron Age as in the Swabian Jura. Land use intensity and settlement dynamics represented by thick, multilayered colluvial deposits increase in the Baar and the Black Forest during the Middle Ages. In between those phases of geomorphodynamic activity and colluviation, stable phases occur, interpreted as phases with sustainable land use or without human presence.

Dynamics and effects of the Vesuvius Pomici di Avellino Plinian eruption and related phenomena on the Bronze Age landscape of Campania region (Southern Italy)

The Pomici di Avellino eruption is the Plinian event of Vesuvius with the highest territorial impact. It affected an area densely inhabited by Early Bronze Age human communities and resulted in the long-term abandonment of an extensive zone surrounding the volcano. Traces of human life beneath the eruption products are very common throughout the Campania Region. A systematic review of the available archaeological data, the study of geological and archaeological sequences exposed in excavations, and the reconstruction of the volcanic phenomena affecting single sites has yielded an understanding of local effects and their duration. The archaeological and volcanological analyses have shown that the territory was rapidly abandoned before and during the eruption, with rare post-eruption attempts at resettlement of the same sites inhabited previously. The definition of the distribution and stratigraphy of alluvial deposits in many of the studied sequences leads us to hypothesise that the scarce presence of humans during phases 1 and 2 of the Middle Bronze Age in the wide area affected by the eruption was due to diffuse phenomena of remobilisation of the eruption products, generating long-lasting alluvial processes. These were favoured by the deposition of loose fine pyroclastic material on the slopes of the volcano and the Apennines, and by climatic conditions. A significant resettlement of the territory occurred only hundreds of years after the Pomici di Avellino eruption, during phase 3 of the Middle Bronze Age. This study show the role of volcanic and related phenomena from a Plinian event in the settlement dynamics of a complex territory like Campania.

Spatiotemporal deformation patterns of the Lake Urmia Causeway as characterized by multisensor InSAR analysis

We present deformation patterns in the Lake Urmia Causeway (LUC) in NW Iran based on data collected from four SAR sensors in the form of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series. Sixty-eight images from Envisat (2004–2008), ALOS-1 (2006–2010), TerraSAR-X (2012–2013) and Sentinel-1 (2015–2017) were acquired, and 227 filtered interferograms were generated using the small baseline subset (SBAS) technique. The rate of line-of-sight (LOS) subsidence of the LUC peaked at 90 mm/year between 2012 and 2013, mainly due to the loss of most of the water in Lake Urmia. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on 200 randomly selected time series of the LUC, and the results are presented in the form of the three major components. The InSAR scores obtained from the PCA were used in a hydro-thermal model to investigate the dynamics of consolidation settlement along the LUC based on detrended water level and temperature data. The results can be used to establish a geodetic network around the LUC to identify more detailed deformation patterns and to help plan future efforts to reduce the possible costs of damage.

The Civil Society Dynamic of Including and Empowering Refugees in Canada’s Urban Centres

This article addresses the critical role that civil society at the urban level plays in integrating and empowering immigrants and minorities in Canadian society. From a place-based approach, it investigates how key agencies in the local community have been instrumental in including immigrants in general and refugees in particular into the fabric of Canadian society. Empirically the analysis focuses on Neighbourhood Houses in Greater Vancouver and the Privately-Sponsored Refugee program in Canada. With the interpretative lens on the urban context, the article shows how immigrants and refugees have gained agency and voice in the public arena through place-based communities. The insight into these two empirical cases provides the basis for conceptualizing the socio-political dynamics of immigrant settlement and integration in terms of the effects generated by urban governance structures.

Understanding Settlement Pathways of African Immigrants in France Through a Capability Approach: Do Pre-migratory Characteristics Matter?

With the increase in asylum-related immigration since 2015, understanding how immigrants settle in a new country is at the centre of social and political debate in European countries. The objective of this study is to determine whether the necessary time to settle for Sub-Saharan Africa immigrants in France depends more on pre-migratory characteristics or on the structural features of the host society. Taking a capability approach, we define settlement as the acquisition of three basic resources: a personal dwelling, a legal permit of a least 1year and paid work. We use data from the PARCOURS survey, a life-event history survey conducted from 2012 to 2013 that collected 513 life histories of Sub-Saharan African immigrants living in France. Situations regarding housing, legal status and activity were documented year by year since the arrival of the respondent. We use a Kaplan-Meier analysis and chronograms to describe the time needed for settlement, first for each resource (personal dwelling, legal permit and paid work) and then for the combined indicator of settlement. Discrete-time logistic regressions are used to model the determinants of this settlement process. Overall, women and men require 6 and 7years (medians), respectively, to acquire basic resources in France. This represents a strikingly long period of time in which immigrants lack basic security. The settlement process varies according to gender, but very few sociodemographic factors influence settlement dynamics. Therefore, the length of the settlement process may be due to structural features of the host society.

The Roman rural exceptionality thesis revisited

This paper critically examines the long-standing view that Roman rural organization differed fundamentally from that of the other polities of central-southern Italy, and that this difference somehow explains Roman imperial success. First, the intellectual history of this paradigm is examined, focusing especially on 19th century socio-evolutionary theory and on the role of landscape archaeology in the period following WWII. Then, recent archaeological studies on settlement dynamics and land division practices in ancient Italy are discussed. In light of these results, this paper proposes an alternative understanding of Roman-Italic rural development and land division practices and as such also questions the ancient topos which associates Roman imperial success with a specific form of peasant culture.

Violencia sin tregua. Hondureños en la región del Golfo de México

The Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco have been linked for decades to Central American migrations, largely due to cross-border labor mobility. Nevertheless, today the diversification of receiving areas in Mexico requires attention to how such dynamics of mobility, settlement or transit affect these new contexts. Such is the case of the state of Veracruz, which is part of the corridor of the Gulf of Mexico which connects the southern Mexican border with the northern border on its eastern slope. Veracruz, like other states in the country, has emerged as an unplanned destination state – both as a temporary or permanent place of residence - for Central American migrants, especially Hondurans. This article consists of reflections generated from observations and interviews carried out in localities of the center of Veracruz. The typology of violence proposed by Burgois (2005) is employed to contextualize the different forms and expressions of violence experienced by undocumented migrants in transit, and temporary or permanent residents in the studied locales. These forms of violence partially constitute the structural conditions of discrimination and stigmatization linked to the migrants’ condition of “illegality”.

Institutionalization and Settlement of Neoshamanisms in Spain: The Case of the Valencian Country

In this article, we explore the penetration of different shamanic currents in the new millennium in Spain, with a particular focus on the Region of Valencia. The traditions in this area differ from the shamanic traditions that had been previously adopted in two aspects: they are different shamanic currents and they follow their own settlement dynamics. By using a qualitative methodology based on a combination of thorough interviews and field observations, we have approached diverse neoshamanic manifestations in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. We have used some of the interviews and observations of our field work. Our unit of analysis has been the Region of Valencia although the theory could be applied to the whole country. Besides, the information that circulates around websites and social media has been taken into account too. From the year 2005 on, new neo-shamanic currents have come to the Region of Valencia. That allows us to speak about a second phase in which the extension, institutionalization and settlement of the phenomenon occur together with a reconfiguration of the traditions that is shown in specific examples. All of this is shown through specific examples: the sakb’e, white way; the followers of Michel Harner and the Ayahuasca intake. The first two are centres/schools where training is given, that is, schools where the shaman’s apprentice is trained in different techniques and trainings for a set period of time that leads to a degree that certificates the training has been completed. They are good examples of the process of institutionalization of the phenomenon. The third example illustrates how the ayahuasca intake is reconfigured through the case that is specifically presented in this article.

Technical break and settlement dynamics in Brazil during middle Holocene

Ruptura técnica e dinâmicas de ocupação durante o Holoceno médio no Brasil

Neo-Eneolithic settlement pattern and salt exploitation in Romanian Moldavia

Romanian Moldavia is the focus of a study, initiated in 2005, on Neolithic-Eneolithic (6000–3500BCE) settlement dynamics and salt exploitation. The underlying hypothesis is that exploitation of salt, along with that of copper and gold, contributed to the emergence of developed Eneolithic societies from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC. By approaching this process through its geographical dimension, from the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, one can measure the simultaneity of certain facts, be they social (the affirmation of elites), territorial (the appearance of controlling sites), or technical (first copper metallurgy, intensification of salt exploitation).The sub-Carpathian region of eastern Romania is particularly interesting, as the density of salt springs is much higher than elsewhere, salt exploitation dating to the Early Neolithic (Criș) and the region subsequently develops into an Eneolithic cultural centre (Precucuteni and Cucuteni) of unequalled wealth and importance.After a decade of research on the nature and use of the salt resources, together with the creation of an archaeological database covering the period from 6000BCE to 3500BCE, we can now undertake a preliminary assessment of the territorial strategies implemented by these societies in the eastern Carpathian region. Archaeological approaches are enhanced by use of powerful tools such as GIS and the application of spatial analysis methods thus enabling us to model settlement patterns and dynamics.Following on from these analyses, several results emerge. A coherent settlement model is observed for the Early Neolithic: the sites, which are often grouped together and currently inter-visible, are located in valley zones and on modest terraces close to minor water courses. With the appearance of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture, this situation evolves: now much more dispersed, the settlements are established in more open landscape.In the first half of the 5th millennium, we witness a radical change in preferred topographical contexts: high- and mid-altitude terraces are favoured, a trend which is reflected in the establishment of settlements on open promontories which provide particularly commanding views over the wider area. Following a marked diversification in the forms of land use in the second half of the 5th millennium, the beginning of the 4th millennium is characterised by a densification of population centres and a strengthening of territorial control.Analyses of the accessibility of salt springs allow these observations to be further developed. Firstly, we note a significant increase in sites located close to salt springs in the period spanning the second half of the 5th millennium and the first half of the 4th millennium. It is precisely during these two phases that the exploitation of salt appears to increase. Secondly, the numbers of important fortified sites and prestige goods (copper axes) occurring close to salt springs illustrates the polarising role of salt resources.

Geoarchaeological study of abandoned Roman urban and suburban contexts from central Adriatic Italy

AbstractOver the past 15 years the Potenza Valley Survey project investigated Iron Age to Medieval settlement dynamics in the Central Adriatic Potenza Valley. Part of this research focuses on the Roman abandoned towns of Potentia and Trea by performing an integrated geoarchaeological study of their townscape. This largely noninvasive research consists of remote sensing analysis, geophysical surveys (magnetometry, electrical resistivity, and ground‐penetrating radar), and geomorphological fieldwork such as microtopographic measurements and hand augering. The chosen techniques depend on the nature of each town and are integrated with more traditionally achieved research data. This paper presents the main interdisciplinary results of work on these two Roman towns and highlights the importance of obtaining complementary data and performing hand augering as a stratigraphic control of the remote sensing and geophysical results. Insights into the character and layout of the cities, the structural influence on the surrounding area, and the human‐environment interactions and dynamics through time of both Roman cities could be achieved. Moreover, the results offer guidelines for conservation strategies of these abandoned towns and their suburbium, which are necessary to protect them from present‐day threats such as agriculture and tourism. In this way the paper offers an insight in the tremendous potential of well‐integrated geoarchaeological investigations of partly or fully abandoned urban contexts in the Mediterranean area and beyond.

Ancient settlement dynamics and predictive archaeological models for the Metapontum coastal area in Basilicata, southern Italy: from geomorphological survey to spatial analysis

In the ancient territory of the Greek settlement of Metaponto and its Chora (Ionian sector of Basilicata, southern Italy) geomorphological mapping, GIS-supported statistics, and landform topographic features were investigated and combined to extract settlement rules and site dynamics. Analyses of environmental dynamics as well as of spatial and temporal settlement evolution were carried through an integrated approach that, starting from a detailed geomorphological analysis, tried to extract the spatial relationships between archaeological site locations and landform/landscape features. Spatial analysis was used to investigate the relationships between environmental parameters and archaeological sites. The advantages to develop a predictive model using Archeological Spatial Evaluation (ASE) analysis lay in the possibility to deeply study the relationships between man and the environment. In the present study, the analysis was carried out in a pioneering way in the ~400 km2 Metaponto territory in order to robustly validate - in the aftermath data - human and territorial dynamics. A model describing interactions between sites and parameters such as elevation, slope, aspect, landforms, land use, and distances from rivers was constructed. Sensibility maps were produced, which will help archaeologists to know how many and which are the parameters increasing the probability to find new archaeological sites as well as how the main geomorphological features of the study area, contextualized within the most likely paleoclimate scenario, affect ancient site arrangement though time. The preferential occupation of mid-altitude marine terraces, and the consequence spreading of agriculture on these territories, is likely due to the existence of well-developed soil profiles on them. Clearly colonists recognized that on these landform units there were the better conditions for the development of massive agricultural practices: since the SP age (4,1 to 2,0 Kyr B.P.) the settlers expands inland looking for most fertile territories as well as for areas sufficiently protected (being far away from the coast). The increase in farmhouses on the top of marine terraces from the FC up to EC-EE periods and the modifications of settlement distribution (gradual abandonment of alluvial) in the Metaponto area is likely related to the acceleration of alluvial processes. The progressive decrease of human occupation during the Hellenistic up to the Roman Age is clearly consequence of the Roman conquest. However, a role played by the increase in flooding occurrence in the coastal plain/floodplains of the main rivers in triggering the abandonment of these territories and marking the beginning of the decadent phases should not be neglected. Productive areas (locally associated to farmhouses) are preferential set along the fluvial incisions (sometime associated to farmhouses), thus implying that productive area setting is strongly linked to the presence of rivers, and of their lower rank tributaries, both as an intrinsic need of manufacturing and to facilitate the spreading of products. From the Classical to the Hellenistic Age until the Roman Age, Necropolis are spread in the entire area, from marine terraces to alluvial plain. On the other hand, Sacred areas - which appearance is recorded starting from the Colony Foundation Age - exhibits a settlement continuity in the study area starting from this time up to the entire Roman period, and the sacred areas setting is strictly associated to the category of Settlement.

Peuplement Spontané Et Accès À L’éducation Primaire Dans La Commune De Bantè Au Centre Du Bénin

Achieving universal primary education is the second Millennium Development Goals that Benin missed in 2015 with a national rate of 74 percent. The reasons for this failure are varied with notable spatial specificities. The present research aims to contribute to the analysis of the specific causes of this failure in the Bantè Commune. The data used relate to the number of children enrolled in schools, the number of schools, and the number of settlements (villages, hamlets, and manned farms) on several dates in the Commune. In addition, information was collected from selected households in several localities. Individual interviews and groups as well as direct field observations were the collection techniques used. The tools and parameters of the descriptive statistics and the cartographic approach made it possible to process the data collected. The results show a disparity in the spatial distribution of primary schools compared to inhabited places. The result shows a geographical inaccessibility of schools for the children of many hamlets and farms. This situation is mainly inherent to a spontaneous settlement dynamics which characterizes the Commune. This concern, therefore, deserves consideration if access to primary education is a global challenge that is again relaunched by 2030. This is usually done within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.