This volume introduces the concept of the Settlement Matrix, a heuristic model that connects the analysis of the symbolic and practical aspects of human culture by placing them both within the same spaces defined by a settlement and it's support area. Based on the concept of the setting, the settlement matrix model examines each venue of daily life from the house to the settlement to the field system as integral parts of a single cultural construct, the settlement matrix. Each setting is studied using the most appropriate methodology and theoretical approach for its data allowing the symbolic and practical elements of every setting to be interconnected. By defining discrete spaces and a way to connect them, the settlement matrix model provides a way to combine technologies like GIS with current archaeological theory.

• Table of Contents (page 5)
• List of Illustrations (page 9)
• Acknowledgments (page 11)
• 1 Introduction (page 13)
• 2 English Medieval Villages (page 19)
• Deserted Villages (page 19)
• The Desertion of Three Yorkshire Villages (page 25)
• The English Medieval Village (page 30)
• 3 Elements of the English Medieval Village (page 45)
• The Villages Fields (page 45)
• The Houses of the Medieval Village (page 52)
• The Form of the Medieval Village (page 59)
• Conclusion (page 65)
• 4 The Deserted Medieval Village of Cottam (page 67)
• The History of Cottam (page 68)
• The Archaeology of Cottam (page 79)
• Conclusion (page 162)
• 5 The Settlement Matrix Model (page 163)
• The Cultural Use of Space (page 163)
• Archaeological Examples (page 165)
• The Setting (page 169)
• Linking Settings (page 170)
• A Medieval Villages Settlement Matrix (page 179)
• The Elements of the Settlement Matrix (page 180)
• 6 The Settlement Territory (page 183)
• Landscapes (page 183)
• The Settlement Territory and Landscapes (page 190)
• Regions (page 191)
• Describing a Settlement Territory (page 194)
• Conclusion (page 198)
• 7 Elements of the Settlement Matrix (page 201)
• Settlements (page 201)
• Economic Studies of Settlements (page 203)
• Spatial Studies of Settlements (page 204)
• Field Systems (page 208)
• Houses (page 210)
• Roads and Remote Resources (page 217)
• Conclusion (page 219)
• 8 Cottams Settlement Matrix (page 221)
• Cottams Phase 1 Settlement Matrix (page 221)
• Cottams Phase 2 Settlement Matrix (page 233)
• Cottam Phase 3 (page 234)
• Cottam Phase 4 (page 237)
• Phase 5 (page 239)
• Phase 6 (page 241)
• Conclusion (page 243)
• Appendix A: Feature Chronology and Descriptions (page 245)
• References (page 309)
• Index (page 325)