Blurb:

This chapter reviews what urban archaeologies seek when they study the environment in which a town is situated, such as the appearance of the landscape before urbanization, the disruption to the environment caused by the initial settlement; the phases of a town's development, the social and functional status of different parts of a town and the resources on which townspeople could draw for sustenance and fuel. Topics include:


- physical factors and climate


- flora, insects and wild vertebrate fauna


- biological characteristics of urban people: diet and disease