SETTLEMENT FROM THE LATE BRONZE AGE TO THE HIGH ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE TOROZOS REGION (MIDDLE DOURO VALLEY): A study from landscape archaeology and multivariate statistical analysis

To understand Iron Age settlement in the middle Duero Valley basin, it is important to consider its behavior in the preceding and subsequent periods. This paper aims to analyze each of these periods to determine whether we are witnessing a process marked by changes or, on the contrary, whether a continuity is reflected. The evolution of settlement from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire has been studied through landscape archaeology and the tools provided by statistical analysis applied to historical studies. Using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) to analyze such a specific aspect as settlement, and in such a specific sector of the basin as the Montes Torozos and its periphery, we will explore the potential of this tool to advance these questions from a historical perspective.