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Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2018) | Viewed by 89114

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giorgos Papantoniou

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Guest Editor

Research Training Group 1878: Archaeology of Pre-Modern Economies, Institut für Archäologie und Kulturanthropologie, Abteilung für Klassische Archäologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Interests: ancient Cyprus; Mediterranean archaeology; archaeological theory and methods; landscape archaeology; the archaeology of ritual and religion; ancient art, iconography and artefact studies (with emphasis on sculpture and terracotta figurines); Hellenistic portraiture and Hellenistic ruler image-making

Dr. Athanasios Vionis

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Guest Editor

Archaeological Research Unit, Department of History and Archaeology University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: landscape archaeology and archaeological survey; settlement archaeology; sacred landscapes; the transition from polytheism to Christianity (4th–6th century AD); the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages (7th–9th c. AD); Identity in Byzantine art and material culture (social, religious, ethnic); Byzantine everyday life through the sources (texts—pictorial evidence—material culture); the history and archaeology of food consumption; technology/production—distribution—use of Byzantine and post-Byzantine ceramic vessels

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to rethink and reevaluate the Central Place Theory in light of contemporary developments in settlement archaeology, methods and archaeological thought by bringing together ‘central places’ and ‘un-central landscapes’ and grasping diachronically upon the complex relation between town and country, as shaped by political economies and the availability of natural resources. The chronological range of the volume is open, ranging from prehistory to the recent past.

Micro-environments with natural boundaries (e.g., rivers, mountains, woods) and desirable resources (e.g., water, arable land, minerals) sustained nucleated communities and remained occupied for almost every period. On the other hand, ‘central persons’ may be as important as ‘central place’ and this is where the concept of political economy evolves. As T. Earle has eloquently argued on several occasions, all economic theories should recognize that, to whatever degree realized, power strategies were built on economic and ideological control over resources.

Landscape archaeology is an area of study that overcomes the conventional boundaries between disciplines, such as anthropology, history and geography, and provides a fresh perspective and a powerful investigative tool to address research questions related to the conscious and the unconscious shaping of the land and the processes of organizing space, involving interaction between the physical environment and human presence. Temporality, spatiality, materiality and site-based analysis are all encompassed in the concept of landscapes, and therefore through its study much can be said about human responses to the changing conditions of life in the longue durée (i.e. the long term history).

The volume wishes to include papers addressing ‘central places’ and/or ‘un-central landscapes’ from a political economy or/and a natural resources perspective. Moving away from model-bounded approaches, Central Place Theory is used more flexibly to include all the places that may have functioned as places of economic or ideological centrality (even in a local context) in the past, including urban centers, agro-towns, countryside settlements, burial and ritual topoi. The diversity of the different disciplinary perspectives and approaches, combined with dialogues, enriches our task of multiple interpretations, and should be seen as a healthy pluralism.

References

Citter, C. Landscapes, settlements and sustainability. In Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, PCA Studies 2; Chavarria, A. Reynolds, A. Eds., SAP: Mantova, Italy, 2015; pp. 253–272.
Collar, A.; Coward, F.; Brughmans, T; Mills, B.J. Networks in archaeology: Phenomena, abstraction, representation. J. Archaeol. Method Theory 2015, 22, 1–32.
Christaller, W. Central Places in Southern Germany. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA, 1966.
Earle, T. How Chiefs Come to Power. Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA, USA; 1997.
Earle, T. An Essay on Political Economies in Prehistory. Habelt-Verlag: Bonn, Germany, 2017.
Feinman, G.M.; Garraty, C.P. Preindustrial markets and marketing: Archaeological perspectives. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2010, 39, 167–191.
Hanson, J.W. An Urban Geography of the Roman World, 100 BC to AD 300 (Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 18); Archaeopress Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK, 2016
Jiménez, M.J.; Garcia, C.T. Central places in the post-Roman Mediterranean: Regional models for the Iberian Peninsula. J. Mediterr. Archaeol. 2015, 28, 81–103.
Koder, J. Land use and settlement: Theoretical approaches. In General Issues in the Study of Medieval Logistics. Sources, Problems and Methodologies; Haldon, J.F. Ed.; Brill Academic Pub: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2006; pp. 159–183.
Lösch, A. The Economics of Location. Yale University Press: New Haven, London,1954.

Dr. Giorgos Papantoniou
Dr. Athanasios Vionis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Landscape Archaeology
Environment
Natural Resources
Central Places
Settlement Systems
Historical Geography
Political Economy
Diachroneity

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Editorial

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21 pages, 303 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Central Place Theory Reloaded and Revised: Political Economy and Landscape Dynamics in the Longue Durée

by Athanasios K. Vionis and Giorgos Papantoniou

Land 2019, 8(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/land8020036 - 21 Feb 2019

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7195

Abstract

The aim of this contribution is to introduce the topic of this volume and briefly measure the evolution and applicability of central place theory in previous and contemporary archaeological practice and thought [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

29 pages, 14055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

‘Un-Central’ Landscapes of NE-Africa and W-Asia—Landscape Archaeology as a Tool for Socio-Economic History in Arid Landscapes

by Anna-Katharina Rieger

Land 2019, 8(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/land8010001 - 22 Dec 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4477

Abstract

Arid regions in the Old World Dry Belt are assumed to be marginal regions, not only in ecological terms, but also economically and socially. Such views in geography, archaeology, and sociology are—despite the real limits of living in arid landscapes—partly influenced by derivates of Central Place Theory as developed for European medieval city-based economies. For other historical time periods and regions, this narrative inhibited socio-economic research with data-based and non-biased approaches. This paper aims, in two arid Graeco-Roman landscapes, to show how far approaches from landscape archaeology and social network analysis combined with the “small world phenomenon” can help to overcome a dichotomic view on core places and their areas, and understand settlement patterns and economic practices in a nuanced way. With Hauran in Southern Syria and Marmarica in NW-Egypt, I revise the concept of marginality, and look for qualitatively and spatially defined relationships between settlements, for both resource management and social organization. This ‘un-central’ perspective on arid landscapes provides insights on how arid regions functioned economically and socially due to a particular spatial concept and connection with their (scarce) resources, mainly water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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29 pages, 39110 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The River as an Economic Asset: Settlement and Society in the Xeros Valley in Cyprus

by Giorgos Papantoniou and Athanasios K. Vionis

Land 2018, 7(4), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040157 - 13 Dec 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6683

Abstract

Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus (SeSaLaC) is a systematic archaeological survey project of the University of Cyprus in the Xeros River valley in the Larnaka district in Cyprus. This article aims to present a first synthesis of the diachronic settlement pattern in the region. After a short introduction on the area and the SeSaLaC project, we attempt to identify and interpret settlement evolution and landscape changes in the region, from early prehistory to Late Antiquity. The contextualisation and evaluation of settlement changes in the Xeros River valley are carried out within a multi-layered framework along the main strands of approach presented in this Land special issue. The presentation and analysis that follows below is a work in progress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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28 pages, 6248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transforming Culture on an Insula Portunalis: Port Cities as Central Places in Early Roman Cyprus

by Jody Michael Gordon

Land 2018, 7(4), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040155 - 09 Dec 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7186

Abstract

During the Early Roman period in the Mediterranean (ca. 30 BC–330 AD), the key central places that distinguished socio-political landscapes were towns. These urban centers functioned as economic and administrative focal points that were controlled by local elites who oversaw wealth redistribution and maintained a dialectical relationship with Rome that mutually benefitted both parties. Yet, beyond providing such rudimentary observations, central place theory has recently been revised to examine how local factors, such as a place’s long-term geography and history, intersect with globalizing ones to transform settlement hierarchies as well as economic, political, and cultural landscapes. This article’s goal is to explore such intersections through a study of how port towns functioned as central places that connected globalized imperial networks to localized provincial ones within island contexts. It examines a range of material culture including, ceramics, architecture, prestige goods, and coinage from ports in Early Roman Cyprus in order to investigate how the island’s integration into Roman networks created central places that altered existing settlement types, hierarchies, and thus, local identities. Overall, this study shows how the reanalysis of central places within their unique geohistorical contexts can shed new light on both regional and state-level processes of cultural change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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23 pages, 5054 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Economic Centrality of Urban Centers in the Medieval Peloponnese: Late 11th–Mid-14th Centuries

by Katerina Ragkou

Land 2018, 7(4), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040153 - 07 Dec 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5539

Abstract

The Peloponnese, a province of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries, was divided into three distinct political entities after 1204: the Frankish Principality of Achaia, the Venetian colonies of Modon and Coron, and the Byzantine lands in the southeast. The number and size of cities in the Peloponnese during the 11th and 12th centuries expanded, and the establishment of the new political entities of the 13th century did not hinder the development of its urban centers. New urban centers appeared, and the dynamics of the old urban centers witnessed a major shift. The focus of this paper is on port towns, since the majority of the available data derive from them, and aims to investigate the economic centrality of the port towns in the Peloponnese in the context of their environs, economic activities, and their position in the eastern Mediterranean exchange system. The theoretical framework is based on concepts of network theory, centrality, and economic complexity, as well as on a thorough evaluation of the material and textual evidence. In doing so, the economic profile of each central place is reconstructed, as well as a comparison between them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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27 pages, 29153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Cypriot Extra-Urban Sanctuary as a Central Place: the Case of Agia Irini

by Giorgos Papantoniou and Giorgos Bourogiannis

Land 2018, 7(4), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040139 - 16 Nov 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7461

Abstract

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between sanctuaries and the territoriality of the Iron Age polities of Cyprus. The sanctuary site of Agia Irini, at the locality Alonia, is used as a case-study to test hypotheses regarding the connection between extra-urban sacred space and the formation of political and cultural identities. After a short introduction to the theme, a combination of archaeological (context and iconography) and geographic data is implemented in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses in order to contextualise the centrality of this sanctuary within its political, economic, cultural and symbolic landscapes. The discussion proceeds with the examination of pottery evidence from the sanctuary, both published and unpublished, in order to reveal if and how site based analysis of a category of material may help to further reveal the significance of this sanctuary as a central place, albeit lying in an un-central landscape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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17 pages, 3354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Timacum Minus in Moesia Superior—Centrality and Urbanism at a Roman Mining Settlement

by Lina Diers

Land 2018, 7(4), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040126 - 22 Oct 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6190

Abstract

When applying traditional criteria of Roman urbanism, several settlements in the province of Moesia are not recognised as parts of the urban network. To avoid this, previous criteria of urbanism should be revised. This paper suggests revisions, which provide a more inclusive definition of urbanism: Thus, instead of focusing on administrative status and monumentality as primary markers of urbanity and urbanization, development factors for agglomeration and centrality are emphasized as decisive conditions for, and characteristics of, urban settlement. To provide a case study for this theoretical outline, the upper-Moesian mining settlement of Timacum Minus is evaluated by ideas derived from a critical appreciation of Walter Christaller’s central place theory. Timacum Minus did not have official settlement status and monumental character, yet, it developed as a central place in the unique landscape of the Timok valley. This was due to its location as a central road station, military post, and settlement along the important interregional Timok valley road as well as the site hierarchy as the base of the centralized administration of the Timok valley mining district. Hence, Timacum Minus displays different levels of centrality. Interestingly, the site only held these properties during the Roman Principate, although its central location and mining activities also existed in pre-Roman and post-Roman times. This demonstrates the significance of centrality mechanisms as determined by local and regional circumstances and historical conditions. Accordingly, it is argued that these circumstances and the diverse character as a central place also turned Timacum Minus into an urban site, irrespective of status and monumentality. This definition of the site provides not only an example of how to use central place theory in current archaeological thought but also possibilities for re-thinking urbanism in Roman Moesia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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15 pages, 12220 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Town to Countryside: Middle-Byzantine Bath-Houses in Eastern Crete and Their Changing Functions

by Natalia Poulou and Anastasios Tantsis

Land 2018, 7(3), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030107 - 12 Sep 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4634

Abstract

The article examines the context of a recently discovered double bath-house complex in Loutres, a site near Mochlos on the north shore of eastern Crete. The excavators explore the broader questions posed by the finding, in connection to both its immediate surroundings and its wider periphery. Its relation to the site’s geography, a ravine on the shore, forms the starting point to address issues regarding its original use as well as its later transformations. The enquiry leads into considering similar structures with different fates in the area and the connotations regarding their relationship to both the landscape and the settlements to which they belonged. The article goes on to discuss the general issues of the historic context of medieval Crete concerning both the archaeology and the information from the sources. It seems that long-held concepts about the abandonment of seaside settlements due to the so-called “Arab threat” are no longer valid. On the contrary, archaeology proves the continuity of the settlements of eastern Crete, both in Loutres and elsewhere. Moreover, the later use of the bath-houses in the area provides evidence for social changes after the 13th century impacting on both the landscape and its settlements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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16 pages, 7204 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Watery Entanglements in the Cypriot Hinterland

by Louise Steel

Land 2018, 7(3), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030104 - 05 Sep 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5529

Abstract

This paper examines how water shaped people’s interaction with the landscape in Cyprus during the Bronze Age. The theoretical approach is drawn from the new materialisms, effectively a ‘turn to matter’, which emphasises the very materiality of the world and challenges the privileged position of human agents over the rest of the environment. The paper specifically moves away from more traditional approaches to landscape archaeology, such as central place theory and more recently network theory, which serve to separate and distance people from the physical world they live in, and indeed are a part of; instead, it focuses on an approach that embeds humans, and the social/material worlds they create, as part of the environment, exploring human interactions within the landscape as assemblages, or entanglements of matter. It specifically emphasises the materiality and agency of water and how this shaped people’s engagement with, and movement through, their landscape. The aim is to encourage archaeologists to engage with the materiality of things, to better understand how people and other matter co-create the material (including social) world. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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16 pages, 3429 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Contrary to Complementary Models: Central Places and Gateways in the South-Eastern Provence (Arles and Marseille)

by Gregor Utz

Land 2018, 7(3), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030095 - 13 Aug 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5217

Abstract

This paper applies the concepts of gateways and centrality, formerly opposing approaches to spatial planning, by now a powerful merged tool for archaeologists, to understand the dynamics of the evolution of cities and settlements in a long-term perspective. The samples are the two main port cities in South-Eastern Provence (France), Marseille and Arles. By means of several archaeological markers it will be shown how natural landscapes and political control influenced the fate of the economic development of both cities in Greco-Roman times. Therefore, this study focuses on the aspects of trade and administration encompassing the functionality of the ports as trans-shipment centers, the impact of political interference as well as the supply and exchange of long distance and local/regional products. Within this research framework, Marseille emerged as a static gateway for its service area with a distinct perspective on Mediterranean trade. Arles, however, was the main gateway for the whole Rhône corridor in Roman times due to its strategic location in an area characterized by a variety of landscapes and the promotion of politics as a port of the annona. The data presented here aim to reject the frequently used narrative of an ongoing competition between Arles and Marseille in favor of a more nuanced picture of economic interactions and overlapping trading networks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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16 pages, 8088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Central Place and Liminal Landscape in the Territory of Populonia

by Giorgia Maria Francesca Di Paola

Land 2018, 7(3), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030094 - 03 Aug 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5153

Abstract

This article aims to outline new data on the urbanization of Populonia starting from its foundation, with particular reference to the results of archaeological surveys carried out by the University of Siena since the 1980s. The landscape archaeology approach has allowed us to reconstruct the Etruscan city’s organization of settlements as well as its management of resources. In addition, this investigative tool has proven the most effective method to detect both places of economic or ideological centrality and specific liminal landscapes in the territory of Populonia. The urban development of the Etruscan city represents an anomalous case for several reasons that are mainly dependent on its shape, which required unconventional choices in the organization and management of its territory and natural resources. Our research leads us to suggest that the Etruscan city’s acropolis seems to have played the role of central place starting right from the establishment of the city. Within some of the new acquisitions coming from my PhD research we have to consider the feature of the hilltop fortresses system and the detection of a “liminal landscape” in the northeastern stretch of the territory between Populonia and Volterra. This particular part of the landscape had been a sacred district with a strong peripheral character and possibly close connections to the central place thanks to the significant availability of natural resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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12 pages, 321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape and Hunting. The Economy of the Eschatia

by Christy Constantakopoulou

Land 2018, 7(3), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030089 - 26 Jul 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5435

Abstract

This paper explores the place of ancient Greek hunting within the Greek landscape and environment, with particular reference to the eschatia, the marginal, uncultivated (or marginally cultivated) land. It is part of a bigger project on the social history of hunting in archaic and classical Greece, where emphasis is placed on the economic and dietary contribution of hunting for Greek communities. Hunting has attracted scholarly attention, mostly as a result of the role that hunting narratives play in Greek mythology, and the importance of hunting scenes in Greek art. Rather than talking about the role of hunting in rites of passage, I would like to explore the relationships of different social classes to hunting (which is understood here to include all forms of capturing animals on land, including trapping and snaring). The ‘un-central’ landscape of the eschatia appears to be an important locus for hunting practices, and therefore, a productive landscape. Hunting in the eschatia was opportunistic, required minimum effort in terms of crossing distances, allowed access to game that could be profitable in the market, and made the transport of game easier to manage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

18 pages, 989 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relative Concentration of Interaction—A Proposal for an Integrated Understanding of Centrality and Central Places

by Daniel Knitter and Oliver Nakoinz

Land 2018, 7(3), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7030086 - 20 Jul 2018

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6169

Abstract

The importance of a place can be assessed via an analysis of its centrality. However, although central place research has a long history, there is no generally accepted theoretical base, leading to continuous debates about the core elements of centrality and those features that ultimately constitute the centrality of a place. We propose a generalized definition that understands centrality as the relative concentration of interaction. Using this definition, we are able to integrate various social, cultural, and natural aspects in the analysis of a central place and its landscape setting. We present a semi-quantitative method to assess the actual and potential centrality and that enables us (a) to draw conclusions about the type and characteristics of central places, (b) to investigate their development throughout time, and (c) to compare them to each other. We sketch the application of the method using two exemplary sites: the Iron Age site Heuneburg and the Roman palace Felix Romuliana Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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31 pages, 25503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Shifting Centres: Site Location and Resource Procurement on the North Coast of Cyprus over the Longue Durée of the Prehistoric Bronze Age

by Jennifer M. Webb

Land 2018, 7(2), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7020064 - 16 May 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 9280

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between site location, resource procurement, and political economy in the context of three localised centres of settlement—Vasilia, Vounous, and Lapithos—which succeeded each other in the narrow, naturally bounded north coastal strip of Cyprus during the approximately 750 years of the Early and Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2450–1700 BC). Cyprus is home to abundant copper sulphide ores and was linked to the international metal trade in the first phase of the Early Bronze Age and again in the Middle Bronze Age. In both cases, this was conducted largely, if not exclusively, via outlets on the north coast which lie close to the southern coast of Anatolia and contemporary shipping lanes but some 35–40 km distant from the nearest ore bodies in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains. Mechanisms which allowed north coast sites to overcome internal distance deterrents in order to exploit geostrategic advantages in relation to external trade include a favourable natural environment (rainfall, soils, and harbours), technological advantage, probably coercion (physical and ideological), and an ability to achieve high levels of centrality within communication and transport networks with fluctuating levels of integration and hierarchy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes: Political Economies and Natural Resources in the Longue Durée)

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