Study of Settlement Pattern of Dungarpur District of Rajasthan

The settlement indicates the spatial pattern of the human's functional activities at the local level, including residence, street structure, community areas, etc. Settlements represent one of the most dominant features made by men on the earth in the process of habitation. In the genetic term, settlements are the almost permanent abode of an organism. They represent "An organized colony of human beings together with the buildings, paths, and streets over which they travel." The settlement pattern is also an essential aspect of settlement geography for research. Within a particular region, different types of settlement patterns were found. The settlement pattern is controlled by various socio-economic, climatic, and different factors. In this research, the authors attempt to highlight the various settlements' patterns, sizes, and responsible factors.

Eine bedeutende Salzquelle in Karapınar Konya – Meke Gölü (Meke Maar) und ein Gleichsetzungsvorschlag für liki „Salzlecke“ im Staatsvertrag des Kuruntija und Tutḫalija IV.

A systematic archaeological survey in the Southeast provinces of Konya has started to reveal the settlement pattern of the Bronze and Iron Ages in this region, which sheds light on the geo-environment, economy, road networks, interactions and cultures. This paper will specifically deal with the region of and around Meke Gölü and Karacadağ, located in Karapınar – Konya, and discuss the surveyed settlements and possible implications of the economy with salt trade as one of the main trade commodities. In this context the salt source of the saline lake Meke Gölü (Lake Meke), which is located south of Karacadağ, its significance and usage of salt will be explored. Finally, the equation of Meke Gölü with the liki (salt-lick) mentioned in the frontier description in the treaty between the Great Kings Kuruntija and Tutḫalija IV on the well-known Bronze Tablet discovered in Boğazköy – Ḫattuša, the capital of the Hittite Empire, will be suggested and debated.

New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou

By examining the structural components, settlement plan, and developmental trajectory of the capital city at Erlitou, it is possible to explore the emergence of the state, kingship, and accompanying characteristics. Erlitou has been subjected to intensive excavation, revealing roads, walls, huge sacrificial pits, and palatial buildings with multiple courtyards as indicated by foundation No. 5. As to the developmental trajectory of the settlement pattern, all principal components of a capital city appeared in phase II of the Erlitou culture. A layout based on intersecting roads also formed, thus laying a foundation for the plan of an urban center in later periods. The open urban system formed during the Erlitou period changed to a closed system during later periods. The Erlitou site went through an initial phase during which it flourished as a capital city, then a period when principal urban components were gradually abandoned. The site became a high-ranking settlement during the early Erligang period. There is a relationship between the changes through time in pottery typology and the development of the settlement pattern. Kin-based residential and burial areas define the spatial division of the capital city at Erlitou. The mode of craft production is characterized by a large-scale workshop enclosure along with small-scale production sites.

The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang

Five series of archaeological excavations were conducted at the Honghe site from 2013–2019. Fieldwork during the 2013–2017 season confirmed that cultural attributes of late Neolithic remains found at Honghe were identical to the Ang’angxi culture as first established by Liang Siyong. Thus, this fieldwork adds further evidence to understanding the cultural implications, attributes, and chronology of Ang’angxi culture. Excavation during the 2018–2019 season subsequently revealed settlement pattern belonging the Ang’angxi culture in the Nenjiang River Basin, demonstrating a mixed sedentary subsistence strategy, including fishing, hunting, and farming, practiced regionally during the late Neolithic. This provides significant materials for understanding the civilizational trajectory of that time.

Soil Arching of Piled Embankment in Equal Settlement Pattern: A Discrete Element Analysis

Soil arching, which occurs in the piled embankments, plays an important role in stress redistribution between the relatively soft subsoil and the stiffer piles. The formation of the soil arching depends on the differential settlement of the embankment fill above the pile and the subsoil. The soil arching effect is barely investigated in the literature from the perspective of differential settlement of piles and soils. Based on the discrete element method (DEM), this paper develops a classic trapdoor test model to investigate the differential settlement in piled embankment during the downward movement of the trapdoor, and to explore the formation mechanism of soil arching in equal settlement pattern by changing the width of the pile cap and the height of the embankment. Due to symmetry, only one section of the laboratory test model is simulated herein. It was found that the soil arching formed under the equal settlement pattern remained unchanged after a certain degree of development, and the height of the equal settlement did not change at 0.7(s-a), where s is the pile spacing, and a is the width of the pile cap. The height of the embankment (H) and the width of the pile cap (a) have a significant influence on the formation of the equal settlement pattern when the width of the trapdoor is kept constant. Both the decrease in “H” and the increase in “a” facilitate the differential settlement of the soil between the piles and the pile-soil, enabling the slip surface to develop upward gradually, thereby hindering the formation of the equal settlement pattern.

Settlement Pattern and Land Use under the Frankish Feudal System in the Northwestern Peloponnese (Thirteenth–Mid-Fifteenth Centuries)

Following the Fourth Crusade, one of the Frankish states that were established in former Byzantine territories was the Principality of Morea, in the Peloponnese. A strict hierarchy consisting of the prince, the barons, and the fief-knights quickly implemented a feudal system and imposed it on the locals; towers were erected and settlements were relocated. Fieldwork in the Patras area, in the northwestern Peloponnese, has focused on identifying the implementation of the feudal system on the level of the barony and that of the fief. Data are drawn from surface surveys and from historical records, including Ottoman tax registers. Spatial analysis in GIS is used to examine the role of the towers in the economic and social life of the subordinate settlements and how the exercise of power manifests itself in the landscape.