ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE

A type of landscape the shape of which is the result of past human use and habitation.

The archaeological landscape is the subject of landscape archaeology, an interdisciplinary branch of contemporary archaeology. The study of archaeological landscape involves the integration of studies of material culture and studies of space, often approached from the non-physical side. Landscape studies in archaeology involve the tools of humanities and sciences, utilising the achievements of such disciplines as ecology, geography, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, geophysics, computer science.

Several leading currents can be distinguished within landscape archaeology. Geographical methods are particularly popular in archaeological landscape research, an example of which is the popularity of the Geographic Information System (GIS). The GIS allows the collection of two types of data: spatial and descriptive. The sources of archaeological GIS data are maps, plans, aerial and terrestrial photographs, satellite images or aerial 3D scans, as well as surveying data: levelling measurements used in excavation and non-invasive research; the GIS in archaeology is connected with the use of complex and multifactorial analyses and extensive spatial statistics, analysis of three-dimensional computer simulations, thanks to which past phenomena are explained; in addition, landscape analysis with the help of the GIS supports the process of archaeological heritage management (Zapłata, Borowski). Scientific research on the archaeological landscape also draws on archaeological sub-disciplines such as archaeobotany and archaeozoology. Thanks to the examination of the remains of flora (archaeobotany) and fauna (archaeozoology) from the past, it is possible to reconstruct the past landscape more precisely (Kołodziejczyk, Kwiatkowska-Kopka). Landscape archaeological studies use a number of humanistic theories, such as anthropology and phenomenology of space (Tilley, Ingold, Cameron-Daum) or social theories such as Marxism and feminism (McAnany).

The variety of fields of study in landscape archaeology is partly due to the history of this sub-discipline. Landscaping is traditionally associated with process and post-processual archaeology, which have developed since the 1970s. However, the genealogy of the landscape approach in archaeology and the reflection on the archaeological landscape can be identified as early as in the 17th century, in the methodology of the British antiquarian William Stukeley, whose observations made during sightseeing tours laid the foundations for surface prospecting and drew attention to the role of a detailed field survey (Schnapp). The development of aerial photography was another important stage in the formulation of methods used in archaeological landscape research. It improved significantly during the First and Second World Wars, and then contributed to the improvement of the aerial archaeological reconnaissance technique. Aerial prospecting became the basis for the formulation of settlement models, which were presented with pleasure by archaeologists in the middle of the 20th century. The authors of settlement models based on the analysis of aerial photographs included Julian Steward and Gordon R. Willey. In the 1970s, with the development of the geophysical prospection and the growing popularity of the GIS system, specialised landscape archaeology began to be distinguished as a sub-discipline of archaeology dealing with the study of past spaces. Landscape archaeology in the 1970s was focused on in-depth geographical and geophysical studies aimed at identifying traces of past cultures in the landscape found by the researcher. Like other currents of process archaeology, landscape archaeology was heavily criticised in the 1990s. This criticism was aimed at an excessive focus on research tools (the use of satellite images and the GIS) and neglecting the main research objective of reconstructing the role that man played in landscape shaping in the past. The post-processual approach in archaeology promoted another model of landscape archaeology: interdisciplinary research, emphasising the sensuality of the landscape and studies contributing to the reconstruction of the past human environment. Currently, within the framework of archaeological landscape research, a synergic and interdisciplinary approach is being promoted, in which both the results of scientific research and the results of humanities research are being used.

[M. St.]

Literature:

Kołodziejczyk, Piotr, Kwiatkowska-Kopka, Beata (ed.) Landscape in the Past & Forgotten Landscapes. Cracow: Institute of Archaeology and Institute of Landscape Architecture, 2016.

Fleming, Andrew. „Post-processual landscape archaeology: A critique”. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 16(3) (2006): 267-280.

Iwaniszewski, Stanisław. „Archeologia krajobrazu”. In: Przeszłość społeczna. Próba konceptualizacji, ed. Stanisław Tabaczyński, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Dorota Cyngot, Anna Zalewska, 284-291. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2012.

Johnson, Matthew H. „Phenomenological Approaches in Landscape Archaeology”. Annual Review of Anthropology 41(1) (2012): 269-284.

McAnany Patricia A. Living with Ancestors. Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Schnapp, Alain. The Discovery of the Past: the Origins of Archaeology. London: The British Museum Press, 1996.

Tilley, Christopher. A Phenomenology of Landscape: Places, Paths and Monuments. Oxford: Berg, 1997.

Tilley, Christopher. The Materiality of Stone: Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology. Oxford: Berg, 2004.

Tilley, Christopher, Cameron-Daum, Kate. An Anthropology of Landscape. London: UCL Press, 2017.

Zapłata, Rafał, Borowski, Michał. „GIS w archeologii – przykład prospekcji i inwentaryzacji dziedzictwa archeologiczno-przemysłowego”. Rocznik Geomatyki 11/4 (2013): 103-114.