Land | Special Issue : Land Use in Archaeology

Research

23 pages, 2798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Per Capita Cropland Estimations for Traditional Agricultural Areas of China over Past Millennium

by Meijiao Li, Fanneng He, Fan Yang and Ruifei Hao

Land 2024, 13(8), 1122; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081122 - 24 Jul 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 977

Studying changes in land use per capita is critical for understanding the interactions between humans and ecosystems, and for modeling the impacts of land use changes on climate systems. However, many uncertainties in historical estimates significantly hinder climate modeling. This study estimated the [...] Read more.

Studying changes in land use per capita is critical for understanding the interactions between humans and ecosystems, and for modeling the impacts of land use changes on climate systems. However, many uncertainties in historical estimates significantly hinder climate modeling. This study estimated the per capita cropland area in traditional agricultural regions of China over the past millennium using historical-document-based and modern statistical cropland and population data. The findings showed that changes in the per capita cropland area in the provinces of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River could be characterized into three stages: slow decrease, rapid increase, and fluctuating decrease, whereas, in the provinces of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there was a continuous decrease. Spatially, the per capita cropland area was higher in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and lower in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the study period. The per capita cropland areas showed clear differences in the HYDE dataset and our study; the corresponding values of our study were 2.1–8.0, 1.7–8.2, and 1.6–8.8 times higher than those from the HYDE dataset for the early Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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17 pages, 1581 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Patrimonialization of Traditional Salinas in Europe, a Successful Transformation from a Productive to a Services-Based Activity

by Katia Hueso-Kortekaas and Jesús-F. Carrasco-Vayá

Land 2024, 13(6), 772; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060772 - 30 May 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1037

Abstract

Traditional inland salinas in Spain and Portugal are often located in rural, isolated areas with low agricultural value, and very few have survived in coastal areas under high land use change pressure. Before the advent of efficient transportation networks, about 500 small inland [...] Read more.

Traditional inland salinas in Spain and Portugal are often located in rural, isolated areas with low agricultural value, and very few have survived in coastal areas under high land use change pressure. Before the advent of efficient transportation networks, about 500 small inland and ca. 250 coastal saltworks existed there. During the 20th century, these sites were gradually abandoned in favor of industrial salt from mines or larger coastal salinas. Only a few were able to transform a productive activity into a multifunctional, services-oriented landscape. This contribution discusses the recovery and patrimonialization processes of nine inland salinas in Spain and Portugal protected as monuments, plus three other successful cases in Denmark, France, and Slovenia. With an indicator-based tool, the degree of patrimonialization of each site was quantified. In recent decades, these cultural landscapes have invested in gastronomy, wellness, tourism, and innovation, transforming a cultural landscape in decline into a living landscape for the future. The different stages in their patrimonialization process have been characterized, helping identify the hinges and tipping points at which a traditional productive activity in danger can evolve into a consolidated heritage-based successful initiative. Good practices have been detected and described. Potential pitfalls and challenges in patrimonialization were also identified, serving as early warning signs. Although focused on traditional salinas, the results of this study may help manage and preserve similar cultural landscapes in Europe. Some ideas for future management and research on productive cultural landscapes are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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17 pages, 5827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial–Temporal Evolution Analysis of the Development of Jingdang and Famen Townships in the Vicinity of the Capital City Site of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China

by Jian Chen, Kai Wang, Yingqiang Yuan, Peiyao Li, Lixin Niu, Jiangning Song and Yanlong Zhang

Land 2024, 13(2), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020263 - 19 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1609

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the evolution of Jingdang and Famen towns near the Zhouyuan site, the capital city site of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China, to elucidate the relationship between township development and the essential ancient relics conservation areas. Based on [...] Read more.

This study aimed to explore the evolution of Jingdang and Famen towns near the Zhouyuan site, the capital city site of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China, to elucidate the relationship between township development and the essential ancient relics conservation areas. Based on the remote sensing satellite images from 1982 to 2022, combining with historical demographic data, this study used four methods, including land use classification, land use transfer matrix, landscape pattern center of gravity changes, and population count statistics, to study the spatial–temporal evolution of land, population, and ecology in the region over the past 40 years. The results showed that under the strict relic conservation regimen, these two towns are in a declining stage. To improve their decaying status, some potential strategies valuable for township development are proposed to balance the relationship between relic conservation and township development for their mutual benefit and coexistence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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34 pages, 12593 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley

by John P. Walden, Julie A. Hoggarth, Claire E. Ebert, Scott L. Fedick, Michael Biggie, Brett Meyer, Kyle Shaw-Müller, Yijia Qiu, Weiyu Ran, Olivia P. Ellis, Tia B. Watkins, J. Britt Davis, Rafael A. Guerra, Christophe Helmke and Jaime J. Awe

Land 2023, 12(2), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020483 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3886

Abstract

Land use practices have had important implications for structuring household inequalities and broader political systems in the past. Our contribution examines settlement patterns in relation to political structure, household wealth, ecological productivity and agricultural techniques. Combining settlement pattern data with high–precision soils data, [...] Read more.

Land use practices have had important implications for structuring household inequalities and broader political systems in the past. Our contribution examines settlement patterns in relation to political structure, household wealth, ecological productivity and agricultural techniques. Combining settlement pattern data with high–precision soils data, we examine the extent to which different trajectories of polity formation impact the settlement location and land use practices of intermediate elites and commoners. The Classic Maya (CE 250/300–900) polities of Baking Pot and Lower Dover in the Upper Belize River Valley serve as enlightening case studies because despite being situated near one another, the two centers emerged along very different trajectories. Whereas the polity of Baking Pot arose slowly, in tandem with surrounding demography, the neighboring polity of Lower Dover arose rapidly in the Late Classic period (CE 600–900) in an area which was already home to established local populations. Our analysis shows that while Baking Pot had substantial settlement clustering around its epicenter, populations at Lower Dover aggregated around secondary and tertiary centers farther away from the polity core. Analyses also demonstrate that most commoner and intermediate elite residences were situated on the most productive agricultural lands in the region, though some intermediate elite households were situated on hilltops or in border zones with marginal soil productivity for political and tactical reasons. Commoner households were situated on a range of productivity zones reflecting diverse land–use practices which had implications for household wealth. Our case study illustrates the importance of integrating land use practices into our reconstructions of ancient political hierarchies, especially in terms of understanding political strategies and household wealth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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20 pages, 3361 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urbanscape, Land Use Change and Centralization in the Region of Uruk, Southern Mesopotamia from the 2nd to 1st Millennium BCE

by Shmuel Clark, Mark Altaweel and Shai Gordin

Land 2022, 11(11), 1955; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11111955 - 2 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3262

Abstract

We produce results that bridge the gap between physical and textual study of the ancient Mesopotamian landscape in the region south and west of the city of Uruk (Biblical Erech, Modern Warka). A brief survey of gazetteers of Mesopotamia, volumes listing place-names drawn [...] Read more.

We produce results that bridge the gap between physical and textual study of the ancient Mesopotamian landscape in the region south and west of the city of Uruk (Biblical Erech, Modern Warka). A brief survey of gazetteers of Mesopotamia, volumes listing place-names drawn from translated and published cuneiform texts from the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE, are presented. The various gazetteers were reviewed for relevant place-names, and the results were recorded and analyzed. These are described in detail below, as are their implications. The resulting data are then compared to the results of a recently completed archaeological survey of the same region. The synthesis of textual and archaeological surveys indicates a more exacting methodology to add geographic objectivity to textual results, while connecting physical results to the qualitative detail available within the Uruk textual record. More broadly, we demonstrate how long-term historical records align with archaeological data, delineating state-level and local land use efforts around a major Mesopotamian city. In the 2nd millennium BCE, settlements were generally small but more numerous, but in the 1st Millennium BCE there was a shift towards fewer and larger settlements connected to the city of Uruk. These shifts reflect deliberate central, government policy and local responses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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27 pages, 9074 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Use and Social Dynamics in Early 19th Century Bova, Calabria

by Paula Kay Lazrus

Land 2022, 11(10), 1832; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101832 - 18 Oct 2022

Viewed by 2102

Abstract

While interest in land use in the prehistoric periods in Italy has received attention, that cannot be said of the Post-Medieval period. The general view is that all activities and objects from the last 300–500 years or so are so indecipherable from their [...] Read more.

While interest in land use in the prehistoric periods in Italy has received attention, that cannot be said of the Post-Medieval period. The general view is that all activities and objects from the last 300–500 years or so are so indecipherable from their contemporary counterparts and that there is no need to study them. There is, in fact, very little Post-Medieval archaeological work done in the south of Italy, which is the focus of this paper. The landscape of southern Calabria has changed radically over the centuries. The distribution of dense macchia forests was diminished in the late 18th and 19th centuries for building railroads and ships, and more recently, arson has been used as social or political revenge. The removal of the macchia led to erosional landscapes and the loss of archaeological footprints. This paper explores agricultural practices and forest exploitation in the early 19th and 20th centuries by the citizens of Bova to better understand the social and economic dynamics that continue to influence the lives of people living in the community. It utilizes cadastral records, archival documents from the early 1800–1900s, and spatial analysis to better understand the potential economic and social dynamics in this community. Consideration is also given to how social status and power, represented by Church-owned vs. lay citizen-owned properties, was reflected in local land use. The overall paucity of archaeological materials from this period across the landscape supports and complicates the overall picture while also supporting an interpretation of a very local and insular community poorly integrated into the greater Italian economy of the day. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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13 pages, 1713 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Infrared Spectroscopy Techniques for Identification of Ancient Vegetation and Soil Change on Loess Areas

by Michał Dudek, Cezary Kabała, Beata Łabaz and Mateusz Krupski

Land 2022, 11(8), 1294; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081294 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1666

Abstract

The discussion on the formation of Chernozems still has no consensus, and one of the outstanding questions is the type of the vegetation that supported the persistence of these soils in Central Europe over the Holocene period. The transformation of Chernozems and related [...] Read more.

The discussion on the formation of Chernozems still has no consensus, and one of the outstanding questions is the type of the vegetation that supported the persistence of these soils in Central Europe over the Holocene period. The transformation of Chernozems and related soil types may be clarified by paleoenvironmental studies, which integrate different investigation techniques and proxy data. We propose a procedure based on infrared reflectance spectroscopy of soil organic matter, that presumably contains specific fingerprints from land use and plant cover. A database of spectra for 337 samples representing vegetation classes (grassland, woodland and arable) and loess soil types (Chernozem, Phaeozem, Luvisol) was created to build a mathematical model, which allows to identify the origin of buried soils with unknown history. The comparison confirmed the applicability of both near-infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopy, with higher statistical affinity of MIR. A clear disjunction of land use/vegetation classes was proven and allowed reliable association of the samples from buried soils with grassland/woodland and episodes of arable land use, followed by prevailing forest vegetation after burial. The findings are consistent with proposed models in Poland and Czechia, and confirm the potential of spectroscopy techniques in identification of soil types and their evolution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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17 pages, 6357 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Khandaq Shapur: Defense, Irrigation, Boundary, Frontier

by Michelle de Gruchy, Jaafar Jotheri, Hayder Alqaragholi, Jassim Al-Janabi, Raheem Alabdan, Haneen Al-Talaqani, Ghadeer Almamouri and Hajir Al-Rubaye

Land 2021, 10(10), 1017; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101017 - 28 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7786

Abstract

Khandaq Shapur has been named one of the great barriers of the ancient world, but very little is known about the monumental-scale linear feature. This interdisciplinary paper brings together archaeologists and historians to present (1) an updated history of the Khandaq Shapur drawing [...] Read more.

Khandaq Shapur has been named one of the great barriers of the ancient world, but very little is known about the monumental-scale linear feature. This interdisciplinary paper brings together archaeologists and historians to present (1) an updated history of the Khandaq Shapur drawing upon a wider range of sources, including Arabic scholarly sources, and (2) a modern map of the Khandaq Shapur produced from a ground truthed remote sensing using historic Corona satellite imagery from the 1960s and imagery available in Google Earth. This new map of the Khandaq Shapur’s ground truthed location is compared to the known locations of Sasanian sites from previous archaeological surveys to contextualise the Khandaq Shapur within the wider archaeological landscape. Together, the landscape archaeology and historical evidence provide a comprehensive picture of this unique feature: shedding light not only on its precise location, but also its nature (what was it?) and how it was used over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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25 pages, 5501 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Different(ial) Human Use of Coastal Landscapes: Archaeological Contexts, Chronology, and Assemblages of El Teniente Bay (31° S, Chile, South America)

by César Méndez, Amalia Nuevo-Delaunay, Sebastián Grasset, Antonio Maldonado, Roxana Seguel, Andrés Troncoso, Claudia Talep and Daniela Villalón

Land 2021, 10(6), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10060577 - 30 May 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3536

Abstract

Coastal landscapes of the Pacific coast of South America are regarded as bountiful biomes, as they are zones on the fringes of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Ecosystems. Cumulative research shows an almost uninterrupted presence of mobile hunter-fisher-gatherer communities throughout the Holocene in North-Central Chile [...] Read more.

Coastal landscapes of the Pacific coast of South America are regarded as bountiful biomes, as they are zones on the fringes of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Ecosystems. Cumulative research shows an almost uninterrupted presence of mobile hunter-fisher-gatherer communities throughout the Holocene in North-Central Chile (29°–32° S). However, local-scale differences reveal the variability that is concealed by this broad characterization. Recent research in El Teniente Bay (31° S) shows few sites and occupations suggestive of low occupational redundancy as well as reduced archaeological assemblages, indicating limited activities in this landscape. However, several occupations date to the middle Holocene, a period when discontinuities in human occupations in response to adverse environmental conditions have been suggested on regional and supraregional scales. The main occupations detected at El Teniente are interpreted as a response to such conditions and in the context of changes in land use. Despite the spottiness of the archaeological record of El Teniente Bay, it is important in terms of its chronology and the differing trends in the use of space in comparison to other areas that have been the focuses of research. This paper addresses the archaeological record of El Teniente Bay and discusses its implications for human land use in the wider area of the coast of North-Central Chile. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use in Archaeology)

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