The Illyrians were an Indo-European group of people who once inhabited a large expanse of the western Balkans. As interactions with the Greeks and, later, the Romans increased, the traditional way of life and sociopolitical organization of the Illyrians were undoubtedly altered. This thesis takes a geospatial approach in order to address how interactions with other groups of people influenced Illyrian settlement patterns. Specifically, how Greek colonization followed by Roman incorporation affected Illyrian settlement patterns in Albania? Due to its peripheral location in the Mediterranean, Albania provides a unique case study for investigating colonization, integration, and interaction between different cultures.

The evolution of sedentariness in east-central Mississippi seems to follow specific patterns when both time and space are accounted for. Prehistoric pottery counts and frequencies from sites located throughout east-central Mississippi were examined in order to better understand settlement patterns. This study combines data from both newly recorded and previously recorded sites. These data are analyzed using frequency seriation and correspondence analysis, thus allowing the investigation of settlement patterns through both space and time. The results are used to address competing hypotheses concerning a gradual spread of sedentary settlement versus a very rapid adoption of sedentariness. The main factors organizing assemblages from sedentary settlements in this area seem to be distance from a major river and population growth. The data indicate that sedentariness was adopted gradually.

LA-UR-09-02500A wide range of theories - resilience theory and the study of complex adaptive systems, for example - are advancing our understanding of anthropological systems. Recently, anthropologists have applied the panarchy framework to study socionatural systems. This framework allows researchers to assess growth, conservation, release, and reorganization in this nested-cycle model that operates simultaneously at multiple spatio-temporal scales. The long time-depth of the archaeological record is a critical factor in our ability to investigate human behavior within the panarchy's set of nested adaptive cycles.Archaeological investigation in the US Southwest has focused on processes of aggregation and culture change due to varying environmental and social conditions; the Pajarito Plateau, NM, has been the subject of archaeological research since the late 1800s. The Los Alamos National Laboratory portion of the Plateau has been thoroughly surveyed for cultural resources, but has received less attention by scholars than surrounding areas, including Bandelier National Monument. I use the panarchy framework to build a model of Puebloan settlement, land use, demography, and adaptation to assess the utility of the panarchy model for anthropological systems and fill a void in archaeologists' understanding of the Puebloan Southwest.I analyze patterns of residential and agricultural land use during the Rio Grande Coalition and Classic periods (A.D. 1150-1600) for the Pajarito Plateau. I conclude that there is no major change in the use of various landscape ranges between these periods. I reconstruct regional Puebloan momentary population and investigate recent evidence that supports a San Juan Basin source of the dramatic population increase during the Late Coalition. I also investigate aggregation into large plaza pueblos, the development of craft specialization, agricultural intensification, architectural change, and increased participation in the wider Rio Grande marketplace economy as responses of households, clans, villages, and the entire Pajarito population to the highly fluctuating climate of the local landscape. I address these results within the panarchy framework. Further, I argue that the Pajarito Plateau system continued after the population dispersed into the Rio Grande Valley below, to be closer to reliable sources of water and the growing Rio Grande economy.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Geographic Information Science (GIS) technologies have helped to further the research of archaeologists almost since the inception of the field. Archaeologists have long made observations rooted in what would become GIS, but it wasn’t until the early 21st century that science was able to back up these observations. From the seemingly simple task of organizing and storing spatial data to more robust statistical and spatial calculations, GIS has quickly become a valuable tool used by archeologists to better understand past populations. This research applied GIS to help understand the regional distribution of settlement locations from the Mississippian Period (AD 1050-1450) in the central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. Settlement distribution was examined in two contexts, first in the context of larger, more “metropolitan” site placement in relation to smaller, more transitory sites. Secondly, site distribution was examined to see what, if any, pattern existed between site placement and a set of ecological factors. The results found that while smaller sites were prevalent around many of the larger sites, a few metropolitan sites did have a larger number of smaller sites surrounding them, supporting the idea of certain Mississippian sites serving as hubs. Additionally, it was demonstrated that several different types of GIS based analyses were particularly effective in helping to identify these patterns, thus solidifying and improving the role of GIS in the field of archaeology.

Os grandes sambaquis do litoral sul catarinense vêm sendo alvo de pesquisas sistemáticas há algumas décadas. No entanto, diversos sambaquis de pequeno porte, compostos por um único pacote enegrecido, rico em conchas e material orgânico vêm sendo mapeados nos últimos anos pelos membros do projeto temático Sambaquis e Paisagem. Estes pequenos sambaquis, quase sempre, não acompanham o processo formativo modelado para os grandes sambaquis da região (e.g. Jab II), mas guardam com eles uma relação estreita, devido à contemporaneidade e proximidade espacial que apresentam. Apesar da variabilidade que os sambaquis da região exibem, estruturas habitacionais não foram evidenciadas, nem tão pouco quaisquer outras que possam estar ligadas com as atividades cotidianas destes grupos. Ao apresentar como foco central deste estudo o caso do sambaqui Lagoa dos Bichos II, um sambaqui pequeno e não-funerário que inclui em sua composição um conjunto artefatual lítico bastante peculiar, procuramos contribuir para o entendimento da organização tecnológica sambaquieira e sua dinâmica de ocupação regional. / The monumental sambaquis from the south coast of Santa Catarina have already a long tradition within the Brazilian archeology studies, being the target of systematic research for some decades now. However, several small sambaquis, composed of a single blackish layer, rich in shells and organic material have been mapped in recent years by members of the project Sambaquis e Paisagem (Sambaquis and Landscape). These small sambaquis, very often, do not follow the formative process modeled for the large shell mounds in the region (e.g. Jab II). However, these little ones keep a close relationship with the larger shell mounds due to the contemporary and spatial proximity that they present. Despite the variability presented by the shell mounds of the area, evidences of household structures were not found, nor other structures that could be linked with the daily activities of this groups. Thus, in presenting the case of the sambaqui Lagos dos Bichos II, a small and non-funerary mound, with a large amount of lithic artifacts along its surface and surroundings, and the focus of this work, we intend to contribute in the understanding of the moundbuilders\' technological organization and dynamics of regional occupation.

Ayvalik which is located on the Aegean coast of the West Anatolia made its main breakthrough in the 19th century and owe this development to olive oil production which was the main economic input of the settlement since the establishment of Ayvalik. Ayvalik was within the hinterland of izmir which was gained importance as a regional trade centre in the 19th century. Thus, Ayvalik found the way to improve its trade relations in an international level and eventually increase its olive oil production volume due to the growing demands. The new form of olive oil production / factories, developed together with the traditional house and workshop productions in the last quarter of the 19th century in Ayvalik. These three forms of production made up the second significant usage within the Ayvalik after the residential areas. The two or more floored, large volumed buildings were especially located on the shore, near to the port and trade facilities, on a flat terrain and became the most dominant and attractive buildings of the settlement. Besides the impressive industrial buildings, olive oil production itself effected the settlement pattern of Ayvalik. The main transportation axes were formed accordingly to the relationship between raw material areas and production places. The olive oil production also has an effect on the physical development direction of the settlement. The areas influenced from the negative effects of the production i.e., smell and dust were not chosen for development. The development of industrial buildings also blocked the physical relationship between the residential areas and sea. The industrial buildings such as factories, workshops and warehouses along the coast line reflect the industrial character of Ayvalik in the settlement&rsquo / s silhouette.

The &Ccedil / ukurova Region (Cilicia) is an alluvial plain enriched by the rivers of Seyhan and Ceyhan, surrounded by the Taurus mountain range in the North and West and the Amanos Mountains in the east / and stretching from the skirts of the Bolkar-Aladag massif to Mediterranean Sea at its southern most extension. The region is thus an inaccessible marginal zone except only reachable through several mountains passes from the Anatolian Plateau or from the sea through the harbour towns. The research subject of this thesis is to evaluate the region and the changes in the settlement pattern, covering the time period from the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900-1650 B.C.) to the end of Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 B.C.) by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyse archaeological survey data. Data sets are collected from old and recent archaeological surveys and spatially analysed under a set of parameters (density and proximity) in order to define the habitation patterns throughout the mentioned time periods. An effort was made to challenge the theory that settlement pattern changes were resulted from the impact of the Imperial Hittite policy in the LBA, and some alternative suggestions are presented.

My interest in ethno-archaeology and a Minor Field Study grant brought me to Samoa. There I had a chance to participate in a multinational project “The Pulemelei project, the origins and Development of Monumental architecture”. On the former copra plantation Letolo situated on the SE part of the Island of Savai’i, is an extensive pre-historic settlement with over 3000 remains situated. The remains are now heavily overgrown but when the vegetation was cleared an extensive survey was carried out (1977-78). By using these records my aim is to understand more about how chiefdom society works in pre-historic times as well as in the present. The archaeological study is carried out with the aid of a correspondence analysis using the survey data as well as through a practical fieldwork (excavations) study of the settlement pattern at the Letolo plantation. The settlement shows large variations between the inland and the coastal region and those actions opened for whole new questions and ideas about the Samoan prehistory. During my journey I also got a better understanding for ethno-archaeology, and the problems that can meet us using these analogies and carrying out archaeological studies in a global setting and traditional society. To date, quite limited archaeology has been carried out on Samoa but the archaeological “revival” boosted by the project which started in this area in 2002 has created an opportunity to train the first generation of Samoan archaeologists and give them a good platform to stand on!

This study utilizes an integrated remote sensing approach to augment settlement pattern research in the Yalahau Region of northern Quintana Roo, Mexico. The region has a long history of human occupation and an environment ranging from coasts, freshwater wetlands, forests, to fields and towns all above a porous karst geology. By utilizing various sensors (LiDAR, GeoEye and Landsat) and collection methods (satellite, aerial) as well as post-processing (band combinations, component analyses and indices) and cross-referencing the data, it is possible to generate a signature, which strongly correlates with evidence of prehistoric occupation. Field verification of a selection of identified signatures was conducted to assess the presence of human cultural material. The results of this investigation are presented together with other regional settlement pattern data in order to assess the status of a number of methodological and archaeological questions and supplement other regional data already available.

Os grandes sambaquis do litoral sul catarinense vêm sendo alvo de pesquisas sistemáticas há algumas décadas. No entanto, diversos sambaquis de pequeno porte, compostos por um único pacote enegrecido, rico em conchas e material orgânico vêm sendo mapeados nos últimos anos pelos membros do projeto temático Sambaquis e Paisagem. Estes pequenos sambaquis, quase sempre, não acompanham o processo formativo modelado para os grandes sambaquis da região (e.g. Jab II), mas guardam com eles uma relação estreita, devido à contemporaneidade e proximidade espacial que apresentam. Apesar da variabilidade que os sambaquis da região exibem, estruturas habitacionais não foram evidenciadas, nem tão pouco quaisquer outras que possam estar ligadas com as atividades cotidianas destes grupos. Ao apresentar como foco central deste estudo o caso do sambaqui Lagoa dos Bichos II, um sambaqui pequeno e não-funerário que inclui em sua composição um conjunto artefatual lítico bastante peculiar, procuramos contribuir para o entendimento da organização tecnológica sambaquieira e sua dinâmica de ocupação regional. / The monumental sambaquis from the south coast of Santa Catarina have already a long tradition within the Brazilian archeology studies, being the target of systematic research for some decades now. However, several small sambaquis, composed of a single blackish layer, rich in shells and organic material have been mapped in recent years by members of the project Sambaquis e Paisagem (Sambaquis and Landscape). These small sambaquis, very often, do not follow the formative process modeled for the large shell mounds in the region (e.g. Jab II). However, these little ones keep a close relationship with the larger shell mounds due to the contemporary and spatial proximity that they present. Despite the variability presented by the shell mounds of the area, evidences of household structures were not found, nor other structures that could be linked with the daily activities of this groups. Thus, in presenting the case of the sambaqui Lagos dos Bichos II, a small and non-funerary mound, with a large amount of lithic artifacts along its surface and surroundings, and the focus of this work, we intend to contribute in the understanding of the moundbuilders\' technological organization and dynamics of regional occupation.