A different vision of ancient settlement dynamics

Описание: Research concerning settlement dynamics is mainly based on data from archaeological field survey. This method of investigation provides researchers with a lot of information that can help to identify trends and to model the evolution of settlement structure at different scales.
Nonetheless, field survey data, even when dated, is incomplete and only shows a snapshot of the settlements. This static information lacks a certain number of parameters which are essential to perceive the inherent evolution of the habitats and therefore to visualize their own evolution within the dynamics of the settlement trajectory networks. On the other hand, data from archaeological excavations enable us to detect those phenomena.
This paper aims to propose a methodological approach to try to resolve this lack of parameters : the creation of an evolutionary model of the habitats from the information collected during excavations. Applied to the sites discovered by prospection, and combined with other analytical tools, the model allows for a better understanding of the diversification phenomena of the habitat and the modalities of spatial development of the settlement.
For now, this tool that offers solutions to balance the static approach provided by surveys data, was designed for the study of Antique settlement of the Plateau Lorrain, but the concept can be applied to other periods and to other regions as well.

Antonin Nüsslein, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris