Search results for "settlement"
showing 10 items of 254 documents
Áreas y suelos: El tamaño de los yacimientos de superficie. Una propuesta metodológica
2011
En los estudios sobre el patrón de asentamiento y en los análisis del territorio, la variable"tamaño" del asentamiento juega un papel importante. Considerada como"proxy" de la población, no siempre resulta fácil de calcular en ausencia de estructuras arqueológicas construidas: aterrazamientos o fortificaciones. En este trabajo se presenta una aproximación al cálculo de dicha variable en los asentamientos de superficie caracterizados simplemente por la dispersión de materiales, que toma como punto de partida la correlación entre aquélla y la presencia de los horizontes edáficos ah. La reciprocidad positiva de ambos factores permite sugerir diversas hipótesis sobre la relación entre la formac…
Small anthropomorphic figurines in clay at Gipka neolithic settlements:
2005
Miniature Neolithic figurines in clay are a special topic of research. This especially concerns areas where their representation has so far been poor. While carrying out archaeological excavations in Northern Kurzeme, the north west coastal dune yone of Riga Bay, a ritual-like complex was recovered at Gipka A site belonging to the local Culture of Pit Ceramics. It consists of several large and smaller fireplaces and pits, with the finds of fragmentary clay figurines recovered under the palisade that surrounded the settlement. The head and body of the miniature anthropomorphic figurines in clay have original modelling. It is possible to single out two types of figurine: with rather broad che…
Mobility or migration: a case study from the Neolithic settlement of Nieder-Mörlen (Hessen, Germany)
2009
A combination of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of collagen and radiogenic strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel was used to investigate diet and mobility at the early Neolithic settlement of Nieder-Morlen in Germany. The carbon and nitrogen ratios suggest a mixed terrestrial based diet that is consistent with data previously published for early Neolithic sites in Europe. The strontium isotope data indicate a high degree of human mobility with only one individual having an isotope ratio consistent with locally derived strontium. Unusually, a group of non-local juveniles with isotope ratios typical of upland regions is also present at the settlement but there are no adult b…
Lifestyle, occupation, and whole bone morphology of the pre-Hispanic Maya coastal population from Xcambó, Yucatan, Mexico
2007
The present bioarchaeological study examines the external diaphyseal geometric properties of humeri, radii, femora and tibiae of the Classic period skeletal population of Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico. The diaphysial proportions are evaluated using a biomechanical approach together with data from the material context and other osteological information. Our intent is to provide new answers to questions concerning lifestyle, domestic labour division and subsistence strategies of this coastal Maya settlement that was inhabited from the Late and Terminal Preclassic (300 BC–350 AD) to the Postclassic Period (900–1500 AD). Our results provide evidence for a marked sexual division of labour when compare…
The rural dwelling of the Second Iron Age
2013
This book, resulting from a national investigation conducted by Inrap, is an analytical presentation of the rhythms of the emergence and abandonment of rural settlements during the Second Iron Age in the northern half of France. Depending on the region studied, between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD, rural settlements were established, and have now been studied through preventative archaeological operations covering large surfaces. These studied updated our knowledge of the Gallic countryside, integrating paleobotanical, zooarchaeological and climatic data. Through systematic studies and presentations, this book offers a useful glimpse into this period, linking archaeology and hi…
Historical and Technical Notes on Aqueducts from Prehistoric to Medieval Times
2013
The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of aqueduct technologies through the millennia, from prehistoric to medieval times. These hydraulic works were used by several civilizations to collect water from springs and to transport it to settlements, sanctuaries and other targets. Several civilizations, in China and the Americas, developed water transport systems independently, and brought these to high levels of sophistication. For the Mediterranean civilizations, one of the salient characteristics of cultural development, since the Minoan Era (ca. 3200-1100 BC), is the architectural and hydraulic function of aqueducts used for the water supply in palaces and other settlements. The M…
Bitumen stabilized ballast: a potential solution for railway track-bed
2016
Railway ballast degradation under dynamic loads progressively leads to loss of mechanical performance and geometry of the track, so that maintenance interventions are frequently needed. In order to system- atically avoid this issue, recently solutions have been proposed to reinforce track-bed by using polyur- ethane and/or resins as well as asphalt layers among others. Nonetheless, their main limitations are related to the high initial cost and low productivity. To cope with these limitations, in this study, bitumen stabilized ballast (BSB) is proposed as a new solu- tion for ballast stabilization. This method aims at improving durability and reducing settlement by mod- ifying both stiffnes…
Novel performance-based technique for predicting maintenance strategy of bitumen stabilised ballast
2018
Abstract Despite being the most used worldwide, railway ballasted tracks presents high maintenance cost related to ballast settlement and particle degradation. With the aim of reducing life cycle costs, bitumen stabilised ballast (BSB) has been recently proposed as a relatively cheap alternative maintenance solution to be applied to existing tracks. This study aims at assessing the potential advantages of this technology, defining a novel maintenance strategy of traditional ballasted track-beds. A protocol for the application of the BSB technology and its associated maintenance strategy is defined. To estimate minor and major maintenance operations of BSB scenario in comparison to tradition…
Use of bitumen-stabilised ballast for improving railway trackbed conventional maintenance
2018
Despite its many advantages, ballasted track needs frequent maintenance to ensure an adequate quality of service. However, tamping, traditionally used to correct geometry, causes ballast degradation and loosening of the already compacted ballast layer, which quickly returns the track to its pre-maintenance position. Then, other maintenance techniques such as stoneblowing, as well as diverse solutions that reinforce trackbed, have been developed to reduce ballast settlement and particles degradation. Given the need to further advance research in this field, bitumen-stabilised ballast (BSB) has started to be investigated by the authors as a feasible solution thanks to its easy and quick appl…
The White Stone of South-Eastern Sicily: Urban and Territorial Identity
2017
La Sicilia è un territorio fortemente "segnato" dall'impiego massiccio della ricca varietà di materiali lapidei che la natura ha messo a disposizione: materia prima dalle differenti qualità petrografiche, colore, caratteristiche tecniche e con una vasta possibilità di impiego, sia come elemento costruttivo sia come pietra ornamentale. La "pietra bianca" di Siracusa, il basalto dell'Etna, la "pietra forte" del ragusano, la pietra di Sabucina di Caltanissetta e Niscemi, le calcareniti e le rocce tufacee delle cave di Carini e Aspra, il calcare grigio di billiemi nel palermitano e il tufo calcareo di Agrigento, caratterizzano gran parte degli insediamenti antropici dell'isola, espressione di u…