Abstract

It has been suggested that, in order to understand the organization of past cultural systems, archaeologists should strive to understand inter-site relationships (Binford 1982). Traditionally, these relationships have been studied from the perspective of seasonal cycles of occupation, distance to raw material sources, and the quantity and diversity of tools. The function of a site within an integrated, regional system sometimes defies categorization in these terms, however - particularly in Middle Palaeolithic contexts. This paper explores prehistoric settlement systems from the perspective of systems of raw material procurement, animal procurement strategies and the building of social networks within defined territories.