A new typology of the Southern Urals fortified settlements of the Bronze Age development

Abstract

This chapter describes the results of a scientific study on the typology of the Southern Urals fortified settlements of the Bronze Age development. Archeological data comprehensive analysis are related to the architectural and urban planning interpretation of previously studied materials, using graphic restoration of architecture methods, which allowed us to clarify the definition of the settlements typology belonging to the ancient cultures of the Southern Urals. The dynamics of the basic typological criteria development, whereby it is proposed to determine a particular type of settlement, is taken into account. Four basic criteria introduce into a new typology of fortified settlements: space-planning structure of the layout nature, the size of settlements with account of surroundings, the morphology in the form of the plan, and fortification power level. In the train of the study, a table was compiled that shows the genesis of fortified settlements of the Bronze Age on the Southern Urals territory. Recommendations for the use of the typology in further research are given, in respect to the visualization of system connections between settlement objects. The method of graphic coding in the typological model development is used as the most effective for displaying informative data on diagrams and graphs.