Functional changes in fortified places: Strategy and defensive architecture in the Medieval and Early Modern Era

Data for Scott Kirk's Doctoral Dissertation.

Dissertation Abstract:

Defined as fortified elite Houses, castles are a cross-cultural phenomenon, best understood by pairing Niche Construction Theory (NCT) with the Lévi-Straussian concept of the House. NCT can be thought of as a theory of the built environment, thus the material configuration of castles and their placement on the landscape reflect elite socio-cultural requirements. My dissertation asks: How do changes in castle morphology and landscape placement reflect broad shifts in function diachronically and cross-culturally?

Wherever elites are militarized, castles typically appear. Similarities in castle design and function are best understood through anthropological frameworks and comparative, interdisciplinary approaches. Using a sample of castles from medieval European, western colonial, and nonwestern societies, I hypothesize that: (1) castle building is a common, cross-cultural behavior, (2) geography and the environme...