1. An Evaluation of Human Intervention in Abandonment and Post-abandonment Formation Processes in a Deserted Cretan Village.
- Author
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Papadopoulos, Constantinos
- Subjects
VILLAGES -- Design & construction ,SOCIAL interaction ,HUMAN settlements ,HUMAN behavior ,CRETANS ,ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations ,ARCHAEOLOGICAL research - Abstract
A deserted Cretan village provided the grounds to look beyond the ruins and study the abandonment and post-abandonment formation processes that transform settlements into archaeological sites. The long abandonment period, as well as the continuous human presence and intervention in the post-abandonment period of individual buildings and larger parts ofthe site, resulted in an evidence-rich environment, idealfor tracing the formation processes in the different stages of ruination. By drawing on a case study in the eastern Mediterranean basin, where only afew other observations have been undertaken, this paper highlights the historic and cultural distinctiveness offormation processes, emphasising the difficulty ofgeneralising about post-abandonment factors associated with sites. The paper attempts to give an account of the observed structures and artefact distributions, and draw conclusions regarding the anthropogenic impact that led to an advanced state ofdecay only 40 years after the abandonment of the settlement. In this context, it addresses the complexity in attributing cultural causes to their effects by linking cultural behaviour to the archaeological record and incoiporating informants' responses about the invisible abandonment andpost-abandonment stages. The paper concludes by underlining the spatiotemporal peculiarities and cultural circumstances of abandoned settlements and the importance of avoiding universal law-like generalisations when it comes to the interaction between humans and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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