The Archaeology of Nucleation in the Old World

Fourteen papers take advantage of advances in archaeological methods and theory to explore the role of the built environment in expressing and shaping community organization and identity at prehistoric and historic nucleated settlements and early cities in the Old World.

The Archaeology of Nucleation in the Old World explores the role of the built environment in expressing and shaping community organization and identity at prehistoric and historic nucleated settlements and early cities in the Old World. The spatial layout of large settlements results from the interaction of social, political, economic, and religious orders. Subsequent structural changes governed by the application, manipulation, and challenges of these orders yield a dynamic built environment which influences the processes of organization and identity formation. Taking advantage of advances in archaeological methods and theory that allow investigations of nucleated settlements to an extent and depth of detail that was previously impossible, the contributors to this volume address specific topics, such as how the built environment and location of activity zones help us to understand social configurations; how various scales of social units can be recognized and the resulting patterns interpreted; how collective actions contribute to settlement organization and community integrity; how changes in social relations are reflected in the development of the built environment; how cooperation and competition as well as measures to mitigate social and communication stress can be identified in the archaeological record; and how the built environment was used to express or manipulate identity.

Chapter 1: Nucleation as Social Process: Built Environment, Community Organization, and Identity. An Introduction to the Volume - Attila Gyucha and Roderick B. Salisbury Chapter 2: What Does Settlement Layout Tell Us About the Community? An Ethnoarchaeological Study - E. Nurcan Yalman Chapter 3: From Sanctuaries to Towns: The Role of Religion in Early Urbanization - Manuel Fernandez-Gotz Chapter 4: Activity Zones and Community Formation: The Role of Spatial Structure in Early Nucleated Villages - Roderick B. Salisbury Chapter 5: Population Aggregation and Social Transformations in Middle-Range Societies: A Comparative Study of Neolithic Nucleated Settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain - Attila Gyucha Chapter 6: Large Settlements of the Funnel Beaker Culture in Lesser Poland: Instruments of Social Cohesion and Cultural Conversion - Marek Nowak, Klaus Cappenberg, Marta Korczynska and Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo Chapter 7: Spatio-Demographic Structure and Social Organization: A Linear Trajectory or Overlapping Trends? - Aleksandr Diachenko and Ezra B.W. Zubrow Chapter 8: Sanctuaries and Settlements: Spatial Organization in the Nuragic Landscapes of Sardinia - Ruth Beusing Chapter 9: Settlement Mounds, Identity, and Continuity in the Settlement Organization of Iron Age Jutland - Niels Haue Chapter 10: Multilinear Settlement Development and Nucleation during the Early Iron Age in Southwestern Jutland, Denmark - Niels Algreen Moller and Scott Robert Dollar Chapter 11: Nucleated Settlements as Assemblages: A Regional Network Approach to Built Environments - Francesca Fulminante Chapter 12: Landscape as Metaphor: Burial Monuments and 'Landscapes of Power' in Late Iron Age Britain - Karolis Minkevicius Chapter 13: Kernave Town in the 13th and 14th Centuries: Social and Cultural Patterns of Community - Rokas Vengalis and Gintautas Velius Chapter 14: The Creation and Maintenance of Powerful Places in Etruria - Simon Stoddart Index, Chapter 1: Nucleation as Social Process: Built Environment, Community Organization, and Identity.
An Introduction to the Volume – Attila Gyucha and Roderick B. SalisburyE. Nurcan YalmanManuel Fernández-Götz Early Nucleated Villages – Roderick B. Salisbury A Comparative Study of Neolithic Nucleated Settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain – Attila Gyucha Social Cohesion and Cultural Conversion – Marek Nowak, Klaus Cappenberg, Marta Korczyńska and Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo Overlapping Trends? – Aleksandr Diachenko and Ezra B.W. Zubrow Sardinia – Ruth Beusing Iron Age Jutland – Niels Haue Southwestern Jutland, Denmark – Niels Algreen Møller and Scott Robert Dollar Built Environments – Francesca Fulminante Late Iron Age Britain – Karolis Minkevičius Community – Rokas Vengalis and Gintautas VėliusSimon Stoddart