typområden

Typområden, plural of typområde, is a term used in archaeology and cultural history to designate a geographic region where a particular artifact type, style, or technological trait is common or believed to have originated. The concept helps researchers organize regional variation in material culture into spatial units that can be compared across space and time.

Typområden are used to illustrate cultural landscapes, track diffusion of ideas and production techniques, and support relative dating within a region. By mapping the distribution of diagnostic types, scholars can identify zones of interaction, exchange networks, or local innovation, and reconstruct sequences of cultural change.

In practice, typområden are defined from assemblage data gathered during excavations and surveys. Quantitative methods such as frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping are often employed. A typområde is typically bounded where the presence of diagnostic types drops below a chosen threshold or where the assemblage composition shifts markedly. Boundaries may be fuzzy and depend on sampling density, preservation, and research focus.

Typområden complement other typological tools by linking typologies to geography rather than treating types as a purely chronological ladder. They are not universal and can change with new discoveries or reinterpretations of existing material. They should be used in conjunction with stratigraphy, chronology, and independent dating methods.

See also: Typology, Geographic information systems, Archaeology, Cultural geography, Type-site.