Settlement placement and socio-economic priorities: Dynamic landscapes in Bronze Age Transylvania. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Quinn, Colin P.; Ciugudean, Horia
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 19(2018)
• Page Start: 936
• Page End: 948
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Bronze Age -- Landscape -- GIS -- Romania -- Mining -- Transylvania -- Trade and exchange; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.046
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Abstract: The Bronze Age was a period of significant socio-economic transformation that gave rise to the first complex regional polities with institutionalized inequality in Europe. Communities in southwest Transylvania, a major source of gold, copper, and salt, played a critical role in this transformation. This article examines how socio-economic changes affected how people situated settlements in resource procurement zones during the Early and Middle Bronze Age (2700–1500 cal. BCE). Taking advantage of the heterogeneous distribution of natural resources across the landscape, a GIS catchment analysis of the orientation of settlements toward particular constellations of resources is presented. Our results show increased preference for access to high quality agricultural land and access to interregional trade through the Mureș River corridor over the course of the Bronze Age. Despite the increased importance of metal within Bronze Age economies, there is no evidence that Transylvanian communities placed their settlements to maximize their ability to contest or secure access to the metal ore sources in the Apuseni Mountains. The organization of settlement systems in the Bronze Age demonstrates that Transylvanian communities prioritized socio-economic institutions beyond metal procurement. This study demonstrates that tracing how humans situate themselves in variable landscapes can provide new insights into the conditions and mechanisms of social change. Highlights: GIS analysis of the catchments of settlements helps reveal socio-economic priorities. Settlement patterns in metal-rich southwest Transylvania were dynamic throughout the Bronze Age. Bronze Age Transylvanian communities did not position their settlements to control access to metal sources. Communities preferentially placed settlements with good access to agricultural land and trade routes. Transylvanian communities prioritized socio-economic institutions beyond metal procurement.