This chapter presents and discusses current approaches and trends in computer-based modelling of pathways and movement networks in archaeology. After an introduction to the theoretical concepts involved, we present a state of the art of methodologies applied for reconstructing pathways and movement in ancient landscapes and discuss the various difficulties in using these methods as well as the most important technical hurdles involved. The problems of integrating optimal pathfinding algorithms with ‘softer’ socio-cultural variables are highlighted, as well as the limitations of modelling connections between places using least-cost path techniques. Network analysis reconstruction and analysis approaches are then reviewed as tools to better understand the overall structure of movement and communication in ancient landscapes. It is concluded that, while the potential of current approaches for understanding ancient movement is considerable, improvement is still needed in three main areas: the integration of approaches, sensitivity analysis and validation, and the theoretical underpinning of models of ancient movement.

This paper describes long-term changes in human population and vegetation cover in southern France, using summed radiocarbon probability distributions and site count data as population proxies and information from fossil pollen cores as a proxy for past land cover. Southern France is particularly well-suited to this type of study as a result of previous programmes of intensive survey work and excavation in advance of large-scale construction. These make it possible to calibrate the larger scale occupation patterns in the light of the visibility issues created by the burial of archaeological sites beneath alluvial sediments. For purposes of analysis, the region was divided into three biogeographical zones (BGZ), going from the Mediterranean coast to the middle Rhône valley (MRV). All the different population proxies in a given zone show broadly similar patterns of fluctuation, though with varying levels of resolution. The long-term patterns in the different zones all show significant differences from the overall regional pattern, but this is especially the case for the non-Mediterranean middle Rhône area. Cluster analysis of pollen samples has been carried out to identify the main regional land cover types through the Holocene, which are increasingly dominated by open types over time. A variety of other pollen indicators show evidence of increasing human impact through time. Measures of human impact correlate strongly with the population proxies. A series of thresholds are identified in the population–human impact trajectory that are related to other changes in the cultural sequence. The lack of independent climate data for the region means that its impact cannot currently be assessed with confidence. However, for the later periods, it is clear that the incorporation of southern France into larger regional systems played a major role in accounting for changes in land cover and settlement.

Résumé Depuis les années 1970, l’archéologie a connu un élargissement constant de ses champs d’investigation, déplaçant notamment son intérêt du site au territoire. Alors que les praticiens anglo-saxons développaient un intérêt pour les vestiges récoltés « hors site » en prospection, généralement interprétés comme vestiges de l’épandage de fumier, le contexte scientifique français n’a que peu mobilisé ces éléments dans les études d’occupation du sol. L’objectif de cet article est donc de replacer la pratique de la fumure dans le cadre plus large des opérations d’amendement agraire et de leurs corrélats matériels. Le recours aux sources littéraires, aux données de fouilles et aux données iconographiques permet de s’assurer que la pratique de l’épandage de fumier, auquel ont été incorporés des déchets domestiques, conduit à la récolte de tessons de poterie hors site. L’identification de ces épandages agraires permet d’aborder les questions liées à la variation de la pression agraire sur le milieu.

Intégration de concepts de géographie et d'archéologie spatiale pour l'étude des systèmes de peuplement La structure et l’évolution des systèmes de peuplement sont un objet d’étude pour archéologues et géographes, chaque discipline l’approchant suivant ses pratiques. Des avancées importantes ont été faites au cours des deux dernières décennies grâce au croisement des méthodologies de ces deux disciplines et à la prise en compte de l’environnement des établissements et des interactions entre eux. L’article montre comment ces travaux interdisciplinaires sont articulés avec des travaux plus classiques en archéologie et à quelles avancées ils ont conduit dans la compréhension de la structuration du peuplement et dans la mise en valeur de l’espace sur le temps long.