Archeologické rozhledy 2011 - Archeologický ústav AV ČR

64SALAâ: Oppida a urbanizaãní procesy ve stfiední Evropûstudying this phenomenon. These are artificial constructions and their relation to reality then is usuallyvery loose. It is therefore not clear whether the ongoing search for the definition of a “town” inthe La Tène period on the basis of ancient, medieval or modern analogies or the creation of auxiliaryterms (i.e. “proto-town”) would lead to a significant shift forward in our knowledge on urbanisationthen.It is likewise not clear whether it is correct to use the terms “oppidal culture”, “oppida civilisations”,etc. when all their distinct manifestations arose and developed before the establishment of oppidathemselves and existed outside of their grounds during their existence – structured development,en-masse craft manufacture, trade, coin minting, etc.It is also not known whether the development of oppida themselves can be regarded as a peakin the process of urbanisation, or rather as a manifestation of a crisis and the beginning of the deurbanisationof La Tène settlement structures and society.From a more general perspective, it is the share of activities and the population which concentratedin central settlements in individual periods that is evidently important for the evaluation of theurbanisation process, and not whether their appearance corresponds to ancient or medieval settlementswhich we regard as towns today.It is furthermore unclear as to how to determine the share of population and manufacture concentratedin centres.English by Zuzana MaritzVLADIMÍR SALAČ, Archeologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Letenská 4, CZ-118 01 Praha; salac@arup.cas.cz