In pursuit of social space. Detecting activity areas in Palaeolithic contexts

The label “Palaeolithic site” encompasses a wide range of settlement organizational patterns, which are related to the mobility and economic strategies adopted by hunter-gatherer groups. The evidence of space management by hunter-gatherers constitutes a precious tool for the reconstruction of Palaeolithic settlement dynamics. Usually, the only structuration elements of space that we can still see are zones with gradient ensities of lithics and faunal remains. The introduction of GIS in Archaeology significantly increased our ability of detecting the structured components of space, reducing the subjectivity of the visual approaches, thanks to the parameterizing of data and application of the geostatistical methods. In the intra-site scale of Palaeolithic sites, the Minimum Spatial Units represent the Activity Areas and their relations with possible features and structures in the site (both evident and latent). Detecting these Spatial Units requires a complex analytical protocol, including a taphonomic premise, as well as the palimpsest dissection (aimed to achieve a high-temporal-resolution) and the elimination of background noise (aimed to obtain a more refined reading of the evidence). In this regard, GIS is confirmed as the best analytical tool, due to its integrated structure and its scientific background in the field of spatial studies. Despite a wide variety of choices, in terms of analytical methods (e.g. KDE, Spatial autocorrelation, K-means, …), we are still far from a common study protocol which can produce effectively comparable results from different sites. However, our analytical methods must be flexible and context-specific, and adapt to differences in preservation, variability and temporal meaning of Palaeolithic sites (e.g. palimpsest-effect, functionalities of sites, …). In this session, we would like to discuss activity area identification and interpretation processes. Our goal is to set up the basis required for the development of a common model of spatial-functional analysis within Palaeolithic contexts. We warmly invite papers in which integrated and multidisciplinary approaches are applied to gaining new meaningful data on Palaeolithic behaviour. Applications in different contexts, such as open-air, rock-shelter and cave sites, living floors, short-term or long-term palimpsests, will be welcome. The results must encourage a better integration and comparability of spatial studies in Palaeolithic research.