ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates how the GIS is being utilized to facilitate a more detailed examination of past social dynamics through the retro-modelling of past land-forms, in particular the dynamics of an active flood plain. The initial application of the GIS has concentrated on one facet of the research problematique: the investigation and analysis of changes in human settlement and exploitation strategies through time. What is clear is that the modern, static landscape cannot be used as an analytical template for the study of past settlement and exploitation strategies. In response to this, the first stage of the GIS program constituted an attempt to simulate a typical, predictable seasonal flood event. By choosing a period of high density exploitation, it was hoped that any trends in settlement patterning would be more clearly visible. The GIS-based simulation and retro-modelling programme has enabled the identification of a number of spatial trends.
