Changing Landscapes

Abstract

This article is an attempt to put forward the use of new digital techniques and data for understanding prehistoric landscapes. The starting point is that the specific characteristics of the landscape and of the sites included affect the interpretation. One character is the contemporary landscape and its topographies. Ancient landscapes can be successfully recreated digitally using GIS. By applying GIS methodology, a regression equation and new data, we reinvestigated an hypothesis proposed by Welinder in 1978 concerning the acculturation of the Pitted Ware Culture. The results indicate that a reconstruction of the landscape may alter the understanding of the Neolithic land use and the question of the relocation and termination of the Pitted Ware Culture at the end of Middle Neolithic B.