European ancient settlements – A guide to their composition and morphology based on soil micromorphology and associated geoarchaeological techniques; introducing the contrasting sites of Chalcolithic Borduşani-Popină, Borcea River, Romania and Viking Age Heimdaljordet, Vestfold, Norway

Abstract

Specific soil micromorphological and broader geoarchaeological (and environmental archaeology) signatures of settlement activities and land use have been identified from numerous case studies across Europe-from Romania to western Norway. In order to demonstrate how such investigations contribute to our understanding of settlement morphology and its wider landscape, a new model has been created (Macphail and Goldberg in prep/2016). Activities and land use are divided into 'Within Settlement', 'Peripheral to Settlement' and 'The Settlement's Wider Landscape'. Major themes identified are: Constructions (and materials), Trackways and paths (and other communication/transportassociated features), Animal Management, Water Management, Waste Disposal (1:

Near total and inorganic phosphorus concentrations as a proxy for identifying ancient activities in urban contexts: The example of dark earth in Brussels, Belgium

“…Similar results have been observed on ancient pastures in the UK (Banks, , referring to Hamond, ), indicating a nonintensive use as pastureland. Significantly higher levels, however, are to be expected in droveways where animal droppings might accumulate (see for example Macphail et al., ). Micromorphological observations typically show the presence of rare excrements and humus (Table ).…”

No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC).

“…During the excavation, layers 13 and 15 were presumed to be fish bone deposits, based on the presence of large numbers of fish bones. Fish bone deposits are known from other sites, such as the Romanian tell site of Bordușani (Macphail et al, 2017). When studied through soil micromorphology, the Bordușani fish bones were clearly deposited within a sandy matrix.…”

“…However, the management of waste itself is not often discussed. Only detailed geoarchaeological studies dealing with formation processes, using methods such as soil micromorphology, have been intensively discussing prehistoric waste accumulation, transformation, and dispersal over the past decades (Schiffer, 1983;Shillito et al, 2011b;Macphail et al, 2017;Macphail and Goldberg, 2018). Using micromorphology, scholars have been able to identify single tossing events (Duarte et al, 2019), the burning of waste and subsequent deposition (Marcazzan et al, 2022), and the trampling on top of discarded waste (Driscoll et al, 2016), indicating a complex engagement of prehistoric, more specifically hunter-gatherer, communities with the material remnants of their activities.…”

Spatio-Temporal distribution characteristics and driving factors of traditional villages in the Yellow River Basin

“…The main areas of study include the protection of ancient settlement sites, excavation and preservation of early settlements, conservation and restoration of architectural heritage, rural protection and utilization, and preservation of settlement cultural landscapes. Examples include geological archaeological studies of contrasting sites like Chalcolithic Borduşani-Popină, Borcea River, Romania, and Viking Age Heimdaljordet, Vestfold, Norway [ 6 ], excavations at’ Aoa Valley, Tutuila Island, American Samoa [ 7 ], preservation of traditional Korean settlement architecture [ 8 ], century-long development and protection of Shirakawa village Ogimachi in Japan and Kryvorivnia village in Ukraine [ 9 ], and the cultural landscape of Minangkabau traditional settlements in Nagari Sijunjung [ 10 ]. These studies summarize historical experiences in settlement protection and combine them with rural development and protection, and preservation of native architecture and landscapes, aiming to find new feasible approaches for the preservation and development of traditional settlements.…”