Human settlement

Human settlements are locations where groups of people have gathered together to live in a community on either a permanent or a temporary basis. The size of a settlement can range from a handful of families to enormous metropolitan areas inhabited by millions of citizens. Settlements predate the historical record by thousands of years; even before Neolithic people gave up their nomadic way of life in favor of agriculture and stability, they would often form temporary settlements, much like large-scale campgrounds, where they could rest from their travels while hunting and gathering food.

Modern understanding of the development of human civilizations has come largely through studying the remains of ancient settlements. This means that there tends to be much more information available about the cultures that settled down and kept records than about nomadic groups that tended to stay on the move and did not keep written accounts.

Background

Much of the research into the origins and history of human settlements has been done by archaeologists, who study human activity across all eras of history. They examine written records where possible, but if the civilizations they study did not keep written records or the records have not survived the passage of time, they must instead study the artifacts that those civilizations left behind. The remains of ancient human settlements can provide archaeologists with a wealth of data about the people who lived in a given area: what they ate, what they wore, how they spent their time, and what they believed was most important in life. In a sense, studying the pattern of settlement becomes similar to studying the pages of a book, as both reveal secrets of the past.

Other scholars, such as sociologists and civil engineers, spend their time researching modern settlements—the cities and towns that people live in today or, in the case of “ghost towns,” those in which people lived recently. This helps researchers understand how human nature shapes the places people choose to live and how communities organize themselves within those spaces.

Overview

One of the oldest settlements that have been unearthed and studied is Çatalhüyük, a Neolithic settlement found in modern-day Turkey. It was built around 7500 BCE and occupied for about two thousand years before finally being abandoned around 5700 BCE. At most times during its existence, the settlement probably sheltered several thousand people, so it would have been quite a large center of activity for the time. Most of the buildings that can still be identified seem to be private dwellings, all clustered closely together; no public buildings or structures have been found. Based on the types of buildings and their features, archaeologists can make some educated guesses about the people who lived there. There do not seem to be significant differences in the size or quality of the dwellings, which suggests that there was not a great deal of social stratification based on wealth or class; otherwise, there might be some larger, more elaborate homes, perhaps set apart from the others.

Another fascinating settlement is located in what is now Pakistan. Its original name is not known for certain; the Sindhi people who later occupied the area called it Mohenjo-daro, which means “mound of the dead.” Mohenjo-daro was constructed during the Bronze Age, sometime between 2600 and 2500 BCE, and was inhabited for about seven hundred years before being abandoned around 1900 BCE. The settlement’s most impressive features are the result of the high degree of planning and organization with which it was constructed. Instead of accreting based on wherever individuals and families decided to build their homes, Mohenjo-daro was built with great attention to detail, with buildings laid out in a grid pattern. The city had public buildings, such as government halls and bathhouses, and a sophisticated sewage disposal system.

The study of present-day human settlements, called Ekistics, is an essential part of urban planning and engineering. It also plays a large role in the social sciences, which investigate questions such as why human beings behave the way they do, why and how they organize themselves into groups, and how those groups establish living arrangements and facilities. This helps sociologists, anthropologists, and other social scientists understand some of the pressures faced by those living in particular communities, which in turn makes it possible to try to alleviate the stresses in those communities and apply the lessons learned to the planning and construction of other settlements in the future.

Many of the features of human settlements are closely related to the geography and climate of the area in which they are located. For example, settlements along the southeastern coast of the United States have developed distinctive features in order to afford greater protection against the powerful hurricanes that sweep through the area each year. People who live in these communities have also adjusted their behavior; many residents keep a well-stocked and structurally fortified basement shelter ready in case of sudden, violent storms. This is reminiscent of the “earthquake kits” that residents of California are encouraged to carry in their cars in case a major earthquake hits and they need to evacuate their homes or workplaces—another example of human adaptation to the geographical characteristics of a particular settlement.

One example of a modern study of human settlement patterns is the study of “food deserts,” a term that refers to areas where there are few to no businesses that sell fresh, healthy foods at affordable prices. Low-income or mobility-restricted residents of food deserts only have access to low-quality, processed items such as fast food. Researchers have concluded that food deserts typically develop either because rents in the area are unusually high, causing markets to pick different locations where they can enjoy a higher profit margin, or because the area has some combination of high unemployment, low incomes, and high crime rates, making it unusually risky from a supermarket owner’s standpoint. The net result is that people living in food deserts tend to have higher rates of health issues such as obesity and malnutrition. Sociologists and urban planners are using these insights as they attempt to design more livable communities. Some proposed solutions include community gardens, mobile farmers markets, improved public transportation, and increasing minimum wage.

Because human settlements are a primary cause of climate change, experts in the twenty-first century continue to explore ways to improve and create sustainable urban developments. Deforestation, development of certain industries, waste management, pollution of water sources, and altering the natural habitat of endemic animals, causing a decrease in populations or extinctions, are all concerns for modern city planners. Additionally, as climate change alters the Earth’s temperatures, water sources, weather patterns, and biodiversity, regions previously conducive to human settlement become increasingly undesirable, causing changes in the distribution of human settlements.

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