Mapping the anthropic occupation of the territory. Tracing dynamics of human settlement from archaeological records and historic cartographies

Abstract

The dynamics of anthropic occupation of a territory over time play a central role in shaping the cultural landscape we see today. This paper presents a methodology for visually representing this phenomenon. The method consists of transforming data from archaeological records and historic cartography into a series of maps that allow historic settlement patterns to be interpreted and the historic depth of contemporary urban areas to be revealed. To create these maps, a series of geospatial analyses were carried out, including density analysis and weighted overlay. The methodology was applied to the peri-urban area of Seville in southern Spain, although it may be extrapolated to other regions.