Settlement Structure and Social Cohesion

We study whether the architecture of early human settlements explains variation in social cohesion. Our case study is the colonization of the North German Plain in the 8th century, which brought about two distinct village types: circular villages and linear villages. We argue that circular villages foster social cohesion by increasing equality as well as visibility amongst residents. Using satellite images, we confirm that round villages provide more public goods such as public benches and playgrounds. To trace the differences back in time, we use data from home inscriptions and confirm that residents in more circular villages were historically more likely to inscribe words such as ‘trust’ and ‘help’ on their homes. An instrumental variable strategy—exploiting variation in historic swampiness as a predictor of village linearity—makes a causal relationship plausible. Turning to mechanisms, we find that circular villages foster neighbors’ visibility. Equality in resources, by contrast, is not more pronounced in circular villages.

Anselm Hager Krzysztof Krakowski