Bridging prehistory and history in the archaeology of cities

Abstract

Archaeology is ideally suited for examining the deep roots of urbanism, its materialization and physicality, and the commonalities and variability in urban experiences cross-culturally and temporally. We propose that the significant advances archaeologists have made in situating the discipline within broader urban studies could be furthered through increased dialog between scholars working on urbanism during prehistoric and historical periods, as a means of bridging concerns in the study of the past and present. We review some major themes in urban studies by presenting archaeological cases from two areas of the Americas: central Mexico and Atlantic North America. Our cases span premodern and early modern periods, and three of the four covered in greatest depth live on as cities of today. Comparison of the cases highlights the complementarity of their primary datasets: the long developmental trajectories and relatively intact urban plans offered by many prehistoric cities, and the rich documentary sources offered by historic cities.

Paleodemography: From archaeology and skeletal age estimation to life in the past

“…First, the population of interest must be defined, and that could involve going beyond the specific burial context or settlement of origin. Precisely what is sampled might be uncertain, for example, in early urban centers with neighborhoods consisting of people of diverse origins (Carballo & Fortenberry, 2015; Price et al, 2000; Storey, 1992). What a nonlocal signature really indicates about physical distance has given rise to misleading interpretations of lifetime movement (Frei et al, 2015; cf.…”

A Typology of Ancient Purépecha (Tarascan) Architecture from Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico

“…A ncient cities are the result of long trajectories of socioecological evolution that can yield insights relevant to modern urban planners, policy makers, and stakeholders (Batty 2008;Carballo and Fortenberry 2015;Marcus and Sabloff 2008;Ortman et al 2014;M. E. Smith 2007M.…”

Urbanism and Anthropogenic Landscapes

“…Taking this notion of crowding one step further, research on anthropogenic landscapes can focus on the nonresidential urban locations-plazas, markets, parks-where crowding takes place (e.g., King 2015). While most researchers recognize the utility of using archaeology to contextualize urbanism, less scholarly effort has been made to archaeologically study contemporary urban landscapes (although see Carballo & Fortenberry 2015). Although it is a relatively new area of focus, the use of archaeological techniques to study the contemporary world is an area of future promise (Graves-Brown et al 2013, Harrison & Schofield 2009.…”