Housing inequality and settlement persistence are associated across the archaeological record.

ABSTRACT: Definitions of sustainability commonly stress both systemic continuity and equality over time. However, the degree to which these two sides of sustainability might be related has not been systematically investigated. Recent theoretical and methodological insights have provided archaeologists with new tools for investigating sustainability in premodern societies. Here, we use Gini coefficients on residence size measurements as an estimate of material inequality and information on the persistence of settlements as a measure of continuity. Persistence is derived from the length of time a settlement endured in a particular state, and we assume that higher levels of persistence indicate greater adaptive capacity and resilience. We articulate an approach which allows us to combine these proxies

SUBMITTER: Lawrence D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12036995 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature