An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

Limitations and Cautions in the Use of Locational Models
The effective application of the Central Place Theory was designed to operate in
what can be considered a Utopian condition, and Christaller (1966 [1933]) acknowledged
that it was developed in an idealistic situation. His conceptualized hexagons were placed
on an isotropic plane that contained constant universalities in transport, distance, and
effort, and the market demands were equivalent. There was no apparent consideration of
geophysical obstacles or human agency.
Smith (2004) warns against both “mechanical absolutism” and “organic
absolutism” in the analysis of space. He states that proponents of the mechanical
ontological approach infer that space (landscape) has little effect on the socio-historical
process, that spatial analysis is only a search for “the fundamental geometry that
structures the world” (Smith 2004:36-53). He also cautions against a strictly organic
approach, which attempts to determine the organizational processes of spatial
relationships based entirely on the influence of the environment. Although both
categorical positions have provided insight into spatial patterning and socio-historical
change, they do not take into account the impact of the human agent, society, and
ideology. In other words, “spatial patterns are produced within and between acting
sociopolitical bodies, not in correspondence to an evolutionary narrative” (Smith
2004:75). This note of caution is echoed by Silverman (2002) who states that, “the
principle of settlement pattern hierarchy cannot mechanistically [be applied] to ancient
societies because ancient people ‘constructed’ social space under premises not
necessarily amenable to western rational organization.”
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