{"title":"A method for defining dispersed community territories","authors":"Kenneth B. Vernon, Scott G. Ortman","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2024.106048","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The transition from dispersed to aggregated forms of settlement reflects a critical shift in the relative value of social and primary (food) modes of production. However, investigating trade-offs between these different forms of settlement requires estimates of the extent of community territories, including their nearby arable land. Here we demonstrate a simple algorithm to do that. Our algorithm is analogous to that used to define core-based statistical areas for the US census, though instead of central business districts, we rely on community centers (or areas of known and persistent interaction between unrelated individuals). We provide examples of our algorithm by applying it to archaeological sites in the central Mesa Verde, northern Rio Grande, and Cibola regions in the US Southwest. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to demonstrate how each tuning parameter contributes to the algorithm.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Archaeological Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030544032400116X","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The transition from dispersed to aggregated forms of settlement reflects a critical shift in the relative value of social and primary (food) modes of production. However, investigating trade-offs between these different forms of settlement requires estimates of the extent of community territories, including their nearby arable land. Here we demonstrate a simple algorithm to do that. Our algorithm is analogous to that used to define core-based statistical areas for the US census, though instead of central business districts, we rely on community centers (or areas of known and persistent interaction between unrelated individuals). We provide examples of our algorithm by applying it to archaeological sites in the central Mesa Verde, northern Rio Grande, and Cibola regions in the US Southwest. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to demonstrate how each tuning parameter contributes to the algorithm.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Archaeological Science is aimed at archaeologists and scientists with particular interests in advancing the development and application of scientific techniques and methodologies to all areas of archaeology. This established monthly journal publishes focus articles, original research papers and major review articles, of wide archaeological significance. The journal provides an international forum for archaeologists and scientists from widely different scientific backgrounds who share a common interest in developing and applying scientific methods to inform major debates through improving the quality and reliability of scientific information derived from archaeological research.