Publisher's Synopsis
Archaeological settlement studies are called diachronic when they deal with chronological development - local or regional - over time. The articles in this book remain within the Bronze Age for the most part, and cover periods that vary from a few hundred to thousands of years. The contributions represent three traditions in European diachronic settlement studies: a Northern, where posthole archaeology has become the norm; a Central European, dominated by other elements, including the crucial role of the Danube in the understanding of innovation; and a South European, dominated by massive, well preserved stone architecture. The aim of this European Science Foundation (ESF) workshop, from which these reports emanated, was to present studies from a wide range of European countries in order to illustrate the different scientific approaches to common problems. By doing this, the participants examined how different research traditions, administrative practices and financial restrictions influence archaeological practices. They then search for new common approaches. The collection of reports cover archaeological studies from Scandinavia, northern Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and England. This book will be valuable for archaeologists and students of archaeology, not only for the subject matter of each report but also for the theoretical discussions of research methods.
