THE HUMAN SETTLEMENT OF THE EASTERN PYRENEES

An attempt is made to trace the patterns of human settlement of the Eastern Pyrenees on the French side, with some references to the Spanish side. Man settled there rather later than in other parts of the Pyrenees, because of more difficult geographic conditions. As a general rule, prehistoric & protohistoric sites continue to be occupied in historic times. The settlement was probably linked to semi-nomadic cattle-breeding (transhumance) in the Neolithic period. agriculture came later & was first linked, as on the Spanish side (the Catalan 'pit grave' civilization), with cattle breeding. The local patterns of settlement are traced through the Roman occupation & graphically represented on 4 maps. I. Langnas.