ABSTRACT
Ancient settlement patterns have long fascinated archaeologists. Since its inception, settlement archaeology has played a crucial role in the comprehension of numerous complex archaeological topics, such as sociopolitical organization and development, state and imperial expansion, peer polity interaction, trade networks, demography, and economic organization, among others. The conceptual shift from a spatially limited and site-specific focus to a landscape-based regional perspective was indeed a watershed moment in archaeology (Willey 1953; see Billman 1999; Blanton et al. 2005). Through its multi-decade course of development, settlement pattern studies has matured into its own sub-field of archaeology where associated methodologies, technologies, and interpretive frameworks have continued to be refined (Kantner 2008; Kowalewski 2008).
