Settlement analysis

Question 1

How is data acquired

Answer 1

Through survey:
- sites ranked by importance/function
- chronological range
- population estimate

Question 2

what type of sites do mobile societies leave?

Answer 2

• caves
• open sites

Question 3

what type of sites do sedentary societies leave?

Answer 3

• structures and households
• comparison of site size
• contemporary view of the community

Question 4

what information might a burial analysis yield?

Answer 4

• info about the living - living conducts the burial
• skeleton: sex, age, illness
• grave goods: info on who buried them

Question 5

how can we infer status based on burial?

Answer 5

• rare/exotic materials
• labour hours associated with burial (pyramids)
• buried with livestock or slaves
• tools

Question 6

what is the BEST way to infer status based on burial?

Answer 6

• Child burials
• if a tool/weapon is buried with an adult it is assumed that it was an earned or representative measure
• if a tool/weapon is with a child, they have not done anything to earn that, must be due to some status

Question 7

why are monuments important in settlement analysis

Answer 7

• construction requires planning and organization
• provide context on social organization
• ex. stone henge took 30 million hours of construction