Spatial Analysis and Social Spaces : Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Interpretation of Prehistoric and Historic Built Environments

In recent years a range of formal methods of spatial analysis have been developed for the study of human engagement, experience and socialisation within the built environment. This volume brings together contributions from a number of specialists in archaeology, social theory, architecture, and urban planning, who explore the theoretical and methodological frameworks associated with the application of established and novel spatial analysis methods in prehistoric and historic built environments. The authors discuss the relationship between space and social life from different perspectives and provide many illuminating examples of computer-based spatial analysis methods in archaeology.

In the past decade a range of formal spatial analysis methods has been developed for the study of human engagement, experience and socialisation within the built environment. Many, although not all, of these emanate from the fields of architectural and urban studies, and draw upon social theories of space that lay emphasis on the role of visibility, movement, and accessibility in the built environment. These approaches are now gaining in popularity among researchers of prehistoric and historic built spaces and are given increasingly more weight in the interpretation of past urban environments.

Spatial Analysis and Social Spaces brings together contributions from specialists in archaeology, social theory, and urban planning who explore the theoretical and methodological frameworks associated with the application of new and established spatial analysis methods in past built environments. The focus is mainly on more recent computer-based approaches and on techniques such as access analysis, visibility graph analysis, isovist analysis, agent-based models of pedestrian movement, and 3D visibility approaches. The contributors to this volume examine the relationship between space and social life from many different perspectives, and provide illuminating examples from the archaeology of Greece, Italy and Cyprus, in which intra-site analysis offers valuable insights into the built spaces and societies under study.

In the past decade a range of formal spatial analysis methods has been developed for the study of human engagement, experience and socialisation within the built environment. Many, although not all, of these emanate from the fields of architectural and urban studies, and draw upon social theories of space that lay emphasis on the role of visibility, movement, and accessibility in the built environment. These approaches are now gaining in popularity among researchers of prehistoric and historic built spaces and are given increasingly more weight in the interpretation of past urban environments. Spatial Analysis and Social Spaces brings together contributions from specialists in archaeology, social theory, and urban planning who explore the theoretical and methodological frameworks associated with the application of new and established spatial analysis methods in past built environments. The focus is mainly on more recent computer-based approaches and on techniques such as access analysis, visibility graph analysis, isovist analysis, agent-based models of pedestrian movement, and 3D visibility approaches. The contributors to this volume examine the relationship between space and social life from many different perspectives, and provide illuminating examples from the archaeology of Greece, Italy and Cyprus, in which intra-site analysis offers valuable insights into the built spaces and societies under study. Introduction / Eleftheria Paliou -- Spatial Analysis And Cultural Information : The Need For Theory As Well As Method In Space Syntax Analysis / Bill Hillier -- From Building To Architecture : The Rise Of Configurational Thinking In Bronze Age Crete / Quentin Letesson -- Visibility Analysis In 3d Built Spaces : A New Dimension To The Understanding Of Social Space / Eleftheria Paliou -- Connecting Landscapes With Built Environments : Visibility Analysis, Scale And The Senses / David Wheatley -- Formal Three-dimensional Computational Analyses Of Archaeological Spaces / Constantinos Papadopoulos And Graeme Earl -- Investigating Monumental Social Space In Late Bronze Age Cyprus : An Integrative Approach / Kevin D. Fisher -- Three Tales Of Two Cities? : A Comparative Analysis Of Topological, Visual And Metric Properties Of Archaeological Space In Malia And Pylos / Piraye Hacigüzeller And Ulrich Thaler -- Spatial Analysis Of Past Built Environment : Houses And Society In The Aegean From The Early Iron Age Till The Impact Of Rome / John Bintliff -- Indicating Street Vitality In Excavated Towns. : Spatial Configurative Analyses Applied To Pompeii / Akkelies Van Nes -- The Spatial Signature Of An Insula Neighbourhood Of Roman Ostia / Hanna Stöger. Edited By Eleftheria Paliou, Undine Lieberwirth, Silvia Polla. International Conference Proceedings. Includes Bibliographical References. Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- Introduction / Paliou, Eleftheria -- Spatial analysis and cultural information: the need for theory as well as method in space syntax analysis / Hillier, Bill -- From building to architecture: The rise of configurational thinking in Bronze Age Crete / Letesson, Quentin -- Visibility analysis in 3D built spaces: a new dimension to the understanding of social space / Paliou, Eleftheria -- Connecting landscapes with built environments: visibility analysis, scale and the senses / Wheatley, David -- Formal three-dimensional computational analyses of archaeological spaces / Papadopoulos, Constantinos / Earl, Graeme -- Investigating monumental social space in Late Bronze Age Cyprus: an integrative approach / Fisher, Kevin D. -- Three tales of two cities? A comparative analysis of topological, visual and metric properties of archaeological space in Malia and Pylos / Hacıgüzeller, Piraye / Thaler, Ulrich -- Spatial analysis of past built environments: Houses and society in the Aegean from the Early Iron Age till the impact of Rome / Bintliff, John -- Indicating street vitality in excavated towns. Spatial configurative analyses applied to Pompeii / Nes, Akkelies van -- The spatial signature of an Insula neighbourhood of Roman Ostia / Stöger, Hanna -- List of contributors -- About the editors Suitable for the study of human engagement, experience and socialisation within the built environment, this book brings together contributions from a number of specialists in archaeology, social theory, architecture, and urban planning, who explore the theoretical and methodological frameworks.