A social-economic interpretation of the layouts of deserted villages. An example of a deserted village at the "V Žáku" site in Klánovice Forest in Prague
Abstrakt
The aims of the article are (1) to analyze and justify the assumption of the relationship between the extent of the agricultural operations of peasant homesteads and the minimum size of their yards, (2) to discuss the relationship between the extent of agricultural operations and the social-economic type of peasant homestead, (3) to discuss the significance of social-economic types of peasant homesteads, as these types are of key importance for a historical interpretation and for the integration of archaeological information into basic theories of socialeconomic development, (4) to test the model concept in various ways using the example of an Early Modern period peasant homestead from the micro-region between the Elbe and Sázava rivers (Central Bohemia), (5) to apply the acquired information to a specific archaeologically documented situation in this same micro-region. A key feature of the article is a discussion of the testimonial value of Early Modern period iconographic and cartographic sources for interpreting archaeological situations. The interpretative potential of these sources will be demonstrated on the basis of an analysis of maps of the Uhříněves domain from 1715-1717/19 on one hand, and the remnants of a deserted village at the "V Žáku" site in Klánovice Forest in Prague on the other. The first case involves a set of unique maps that combine perspective and layout views of Early Modern period villages. The second instance involves a remarkable medieval site that has not yet undergone extensive research. Detailed maps of the Uhříněves domain document the appearance of the landscape at the very beginning of the 18th century, making it possible to expand the existing interpretative possibilities of documented remains on the grounds of the village, thus contributing to the development of methods combining the testimony of archaeological, written, iconographic and even cartographic sources for learning about the past.