Post on 03-Mar-2023
René Ohlrau
Defining social space inside Tripolian mega sitesA socio-architectural approach
© Mark Weaver
Axioms and definitions : Social SpaceINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Classic approach – Political economy• Value by euclidian/economic distance • Spatial distribution of value and means to produce value• Relations of values between social positions (Bourdieu)
Configuration approach – “Sozialraumanalyse”• Social reproduction by interaction (Giddens/Lefebre)• Relations of interaction possibilities (Löw) • Built space enables/blocks/directs• Access control of interaction possibilities
Integration of approaches: Access control of WHAT values WHERE by WHOM?
Social space = Division of abstract and physical space by social structure
Sociology of architecture in archaeology INTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Methodological possibilities in Archaeology
Classical materialistic approach (MacGuire/Shiffer 1983)
• Interdependencies of production/use/maintenance • Durability/Material• Labour investment• Size• Display
Cognitive anthropological approach (Ohlrau in press)
• Spatial access control of interaction possibilities (Hillier/Hanson 1984; Hillier 2007)
• Degrees of privacy/publicity (Hillier/Hanson 1984; Hillier 2007)
• Group size and scalar stress (Johnson 1982; Feinman 2011; Alberti 2014)
Space and timeINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Tripolye C
Mega sites of Uman regionTripolye B - C
Mega sitesINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Maidanetske
Talianki
(Rassmann et al. 2014)
(Rassmann et al. 2014)
Mega sitesINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
(Chapman et al. 2014)
Dobrovody Nebelivka
(Rassmann et al. 2014)
Analytical variables INTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
What can we analyse?
Size
Location
Relation
Petreni
Maidanetske
Talianki
Dobrovody
Nebelivka
Diversity of architectureINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Chernovol 2012
Diversity of architectureINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
MaidanetskeDerived fromChapman et al. 2014
Clustering housesINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Statistics Talianki Maidanetske
N 302 522
Minimum 2 2
Maximum 30 41
Mean 4.5 7
SD 3.50 5.75
Median 3 5
(Rapoport 1982, 33)
On average 20-45 people per group
Matches natural group size (Hassan 1981)
INTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Giving meaning to
non-vernacular architecture
Space syntax analysisINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Intervisibility Natural movementLines of sight
Intervisibility, public exposure and power relationsINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
PublicPrivate
Highest visibility correlates with biggest buildings
Intervisibility as social institution (Wilson 1988)
Power and the concept of the Panopticon
“[…] the Panopticon must not beunderstood as a dreambuilding; it is thediagram of a mechanism of power reducedto its ideal form”Foucault's Discipline and Punish 1977
(Bentham 1791)
Lines of sight – a visual NetworkINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Settlement layout and building typology INTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
?
1
2
3
4
Maidanetske topologyINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Outside Central plaza
Outer rim
Inner rim
?
Agent based pedestrian movementINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
Cellswalked by
Hierarchies, relations and neighbourhood formationINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
?
1
2
34
(Rapoport 1977)
Scalar Stress and the limits of settlement growthsINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
3:1
15:1
10:1
5:1
(19):1
(Fletcher 1995)
1-2 ha 100 ha 100 km²
(Jo
hn
son
19
82
)
ConclusionsINTERNATIONAL OPEN WORKSHOP 2015Session 5 - The organisation of social space
• There are significant differences in size of architecture
• Those differences show a distinct spatial pattern
• Vernacular architecture is very standardised
• Biggest buildings correlate with highest:
• Visibility
• Integration
• Centrality
• Architectural hierarchy correlates with human organisation patterns
• Neighbourhood formation hints at beginning urbanisation
• Lack of further organisation seems to lead to settlement decline