1 Why Neighborhoods? The Neighborhood in Archaeological Theory and Practice

Pacifico, David; Truex, Lise A.

doi:10.1111/apaa.12110

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…As we continue to expand our knowledge of the formative phases of this complex and refine our understanding of life in urbanizing central Italy, these areas provide a promising opportunity to enter into broader debates around the lived experience of the diverse members of this type of community and the role these actors and their quotidian activities played in nascent cities (e.g. M. E. Jennings and Earle 2016;Pacifico and Truex 2019;Robin 2020;C. Smith 2020).…”

Section: Key Conclusion and Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018

Samuels

Naglak

Opitz

et al. 2021

Journal of Field Archaeology

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Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2019 have contributed new data to a number of debates around the emergence, lived experience, maintenance, decline, and resilience of cities. Gabii's urban trajectories demonstrate both seemingly familiar forms of urbanism and, on closer study, many locally circumscribed elements. Specifically, the Gabii Project excavations have uncovered an early Iron Age (8th-5th centuries B.C.) hut complex that has provided evidence for architecture, funerary rites, and quotidian activities during the initial polynuclear settlement at urbanizing Gabii. A unique monumental complex constructed in the 3rd century B.C. has been identified and is interpreted as a public structure potentially used for ritual activities; the study of this complex raises questions about the creation and reception of markers of civic identity. Excavation data has further characterized the reorganizations that took place during the first centuries A.D., when Gabii's settled area contracted. Rather than unidirectional decline, evidence for industrial activities increases, and elite investments in the city persist, especially in the mixed-use elite domestic and agricultural complex. These results provide detailed evidence for how ancient cities developed and transformed in the face of shifting local and regional conditions, especially smaller urban centers (Gabii) at the periphery of mega-urban centers (Rome).

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Section: Key Conclusion and Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018

Samuels

Naglak

Opitz

et al. 2021

Journal of Field Archaeology

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“…Yet, identifying neighborhoods, or smaller socio-spatial units, archaeologically remains a challenge and neighborhoods are one of the least investigated aspects of Maya studies [ 5 , 6 ]. Scholars have relied on a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to delineate neighborhoods of the past [see overviews in 7 , 8 ]. Even within a single region, the Maya Lowlands, neighborhoods have been identified using spatial analyses [ 9 – 12 ], artifact assemblages [ 13 – 16 ], and architectural remains [ 17 – 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neighborhoods are spatially discrete areas formed primarily through frequent face-to-face interaction [ 3 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 37 , 38 ]. Neighborhoods might be evident through specific shared physical or social characteristics that are archaeologically visible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Lowland Maya neighborhoods: Average Nearest Neighbor analysis and kernel density models, environments, and urban scale

et al. 2022

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Many humans live in large, complex political centers, composed of multi-scalar communities including neighborhoods and districts. Both today and in the past, neighborhoods form a fundamental part of cities and are defined by their spatial, architectural, and material elements. Neighborhoods existed in ancient centers of various scales, and multiple methods have been employed to identify ancient neighborhoods in archaeological contexts. However, the use of different methods for neighborhood identification within the same spatiotemporal setting results in challenges for comparisons within and between ancient societies. Here, we focus on using a single method—combining Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN) and Kernel Density (KD) analyses of household groups—to identify potential neighborhoods based on clusters of households at 23 ancient centers across the Maya Lowlands. While a one-size-fits all model does not work for neighborhood identification everywhere, the ANN/KD method provides quantifiable data on the clustering of ancient households, which can be linked to environmental zones and urban scale. We found that centers in river valleys exhibited greater household clustering compared to centers in upland and escarpment environments. Settlement patterns on flat plains were more dispersed, with little discrete spatial clustering of households. Furthermore, we categorized the ancient Maya centers into discrete urban scales, finding that larger centers had greater variation in household spacing compared to medium-sized and smaller centers. Many larger political centers possess heterogeneity in household clustering between their civic-ceremonial cores, immediate hinterlands, and far peripheries. Smaller centers exhibit greater household clustering compared to larger ones. This paper quantitatively assesses household clustering among nearly two dozen centers across the Maya Lowlands, linking environment and urban scale to settlement patterns. The findings are applicable to ancient societies and modern cities alike; understanding how humans form multi-scalar social groupings, such as neighborhoods, is fundamental to human experience and social organization.

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“…One current focus of research into the internal structure of ancient urban settlements and cities uses the concept of intermediate socio-spatial units (ISUs; Pacifico and Truex 2019); that is, units located socially, politically, and spatially between households and the highest level of the political structure (Fargher et al 2019). As the materialization of administrative or organizational structures or both, these units are indicative of increasing vertical and horizontal complexity.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Built Environment and the Development of Intermediate Socio-Spatial Units at Los Guachimontones, Jalisco, Mexico

Espinoza

2021

Latin Am. antiq.

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Intermediate socio-spatial units (ISUs), materialized as neighborhoods and districts, were important elements in the ordering of the built environment in large ancient settlements. They are indicative of an increasing vertical and horizontal complexity because they lie between households and the governing authority. Collective action theory holds that ISUs can take many forms and can be created through bottom-up, top-down, or top-down/bottom-up processes. The distribution of ISUs in the context of other architectural elements illuminates the degree to which collective policies shaped urban landscapes. This article identifies districts and neighborhoods, two types of ISUs, at the site of Los Guachimontones (Jalisco, Mexico) through a study of its internal spatial organization. Intensive survey and mapping have identified thousands of architectural elements, including the circular complexes known as guachimontones. Thiessen polygon analysis reveals that guachimontones are an important feature of the site's spatial organization, as well as to the materialization of ISUs and other socio-spatial units. Broadly speaking, the organization of these built spaces reveals that their growth can be attributed to collectively oriented political strategies.

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1 Why Neighborhoods? The Neighborhood in Archaeological Theory and Practice

Cited by 10 publications

References 41 publications

A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018

A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018

Ancient Lowland Maya neighborhoods: Average Nearest Neighbor analysis and kernel density models, environments, and urban scale

The Built Environment and the Development of Intermediate Socio-Spatial Units at Los Guachimontones, Jalisco, Mexico

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