The Ideal Distribution Model and Archaeological Settlement Patterning

Abstract

Human populations distribute themselves across landscapes in clearly patterned ways, but accurate and theoretically informed predictions and explanations of that patterning in the archaeological record can prove difficult. Recently, archaeologists have begun applying a unifying theoretical framework derived from population and behavioural ecology to understand human population distribution and movement: the ideal distribution model (IDM). The three variants of this IDM-the ideal free distribution, the ideal free distribution with an Allee effect, and the ideal despotic distribution-are capable of generating testable hypotheses concerning the colonisation of landscapes, the spatial distribution of populations, cooperation and competition, social hierarchy and inequality, and the impacts of subsistence on settlement patterns. Their success in addressing such wide-ranging research questions demonstrates that IDMs are not only helpful for analysing settlement patterns in relation to environmental factors, but for better understanding the social forces that impact population distribution, as well. There seem to be no geographic or temporal bounds to the utility of IDMs, and we look forward to the application of these models in ever more diverse settings.

Ideal distribution models and the tempo of agricultural development in a windward valley of Hawaiʻi

“…Drawing from a formal body of theory, these models provide testable hypotheses of human subsistence and settlement behaviour in response to environmental and social factors (Prufer et al 2017). The models predict how human settlement may be conditioned by characteristics of habitat suitability, or the potential for a habitat to have a positive impact on the success of an individual (Weitzel & Codding 2020: 2). While IDMs assume that humans will maximise suitability of any particular habitat, suitability is not static (Bliege Bird et al 2020); rather, it is dependent on a range of social and environmental factors that influence the costs and benefits of using particular habitats over time.…”

“…Alternatively, larger populations may allow for opportunities to employ more labour-intensive strategies or intensify cropping cycles (Kirch 1994). There is an optimal group size, however, after which increases in population density would result in reduced suitability (Weitzel & Codding 2020). The third model iteration, the ideal despotic distribution, predicts human use of habitats under constrained conditions.…”

¿Poblamiento y cambio social de un territorio aislado? Propuestas sobre la evolución de la ocupación territorial de la isla de Gran Canaria en época prehispánica

“…En general, el trabajo planteado evita las propuestas de corte meramente biologicista (Berg, 2010: 16-26) que transforman las islas en meros laboratorios (Evans, 1973: 517-520). Por el contrario, nos centramos en el estudio de la evolución del poblamiento y la colonización de acuerdo a unos principios generales, distinguiendo entre los diferentes mecanismos causales existentes en el proceso, como, por ejemplo, los modelos de distribución libre ideal (Kennett et al, 2006: 265-288;Kennet y Winterhalder, 2008: 87-96;Allen y O'Connell, 2008: 31-46;Giovas y Fitzpatrick, 2014: 569-589;Weitzel y Codding, 2020). Por su parte, el marco insular, en su aparente y físico confinamiento, permite evitar el 'efecto borde' (Odum, 1971;García Sanjuán, 2006: 181-200), debido a la evidente coincidencia entre los límites insulares y el marco M. A. Moreno Benítez, J. Velasco Vázquez et al / ¿Poblamiento y cambio social de un territorio aislado?…”

Dots on the Map: Issues in the Archaeological Analysis of Site Locations

“…Two important variants of the model enlarge the applicability and potential of the IFD by addressing changes through time. The Allee effect recognizes that human activities can improve the suitability of occupied locations, thus increasing their ability to support growing populations by increasing their locational value (Weitzel & Codding, 2020). The ideal despotic distribution includes the impact of political differences on choices of locations when political elites can exclude others from the most suitable areas, as exemplified by studies of the Maya by Prufer (2017) and of European LBK agriculturalists by Shennan (2007).…”