Central places and the environment : investigations of an interdependent relationship

This thesis, written within the Cluster of Excellence Exc264 Topoi, applies central place theory in archaeological context in order to investigate the influence of natural environmental characteristics on the formation, development, and persistence of central places. To allow an application of central place theory in archaeological context the definition of centrality is generalized. In this regard, centrality is understood as relative concentration of interaction. Applying this definition and a semi-quantitative approach to measure centrality, the intertwined influence of social and natural phenomena on the shaping and persistence of central place gets obvious: The centrality of a place can be seen as the result of interdependent processes that characterize specific features on different spatial scales, ranging from the local to the supra-regional. Natural environmental features are herein of relative importance, depending on the location and history of a central place. Therefore, to be able to assess the influence of environmental characteristics on central places, the natural and societal history of a place, in terms of its local, regional, and supra-regional integration has to be investigated.