Dear colleagues, our esteemed authors – present and future – and valued readers,
The Editorial Board of the Stratum plus journal invites a renewed focus on strategic themes that bridge the most distant eras and regions through a unified problematic framework. This approach allows us not only to broaden horizons in explaining and understanding specific phenomena of our science but also to identify common or universal tools for their interpretation.
For the years 2027 and 2028, we propose a single cross-cutting theme: "Artifacts of Inhabitation and the Engineered Environment." This is the very field of archaeology that reconstructs past human behavior and cultures through their reflection in spatial structures—dwelling types, settlement organization, and settlement patterns, including communications, roads, and trade routes.
"The Dwelling: From Natural Shelter to Standardized Construction". This is the overarching theme for the journal in 2027. In proposing this topic, we anticipate exploring unique trajectories in the development of human habitation across its diverse forms and local historical contexts. We recognize that the phenomenon of the human dwelling raises a long list of intriguing questions, ranging from functional-typological aspects to the cultural-semiotic realm. By bringing together these diverse perspectives, we hope to catalyze a rigorous and high-level academic debate on the subject.
"Settlement Structure and Distribution Patterns". This is the overarching theme for 2028. Here, we encourage the application of the full theoretical and practical experience of "spatial archaeology"—from the analysis of settlement structures and the relative positioning of various features (dwellings, economic and cult structures, burial grounds, public spaces) to the reconstruction of settlement systems over vast territories. Scaling up from the diverse structures of individual settlements to broader spatial generalizations opens the door to contributions identifying "central places" within a network of smaller sites, and establishing settlement hierarchies based on size and function, environmental and landscape patterns of distribution, site catchment analysis, and more.
We especially welcome research utilizing technological tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), LiDAR laser scanning, and computer-based visibility modeling within specific spatial contexts (Viewshed Analysis), among others.
Mark E. Tkachuk, doctor of history
First Rector,
High Anthropological School University
Editor-in-Chief,
international journal Stratum plus