Landscape Archaeology and Intrasite Survey. How can we derive demographic estimates?

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate if it is possible to obtain reliable results, from a demographic point of view, by exploiting the data from archaeological surveys. The study examines three case-studies from Sicily, the districts of Himera, Halaesa and Cignana, which have in common the same methodological approach to the study of the territory. From this perspective, the relationships between aspects of the landscape and archaeological documentation are analysed, i.e. the artefacts (like density and typology), the visibility of settlements, and finally the meaning of the "hidden sites" in the interpretation of settlement dynamics.