The research group »Archaeology of the Roman Provinces in the Latin West« investigates the human-caused alterations to the settlement character and population structures in the western Roman empire. Via the analysis of urban and rural settlements, cemeteries, and the contextual evaluation of archaeological artefacts – applied over a variety of observation periods – a modified picture of the population, and its relationship to settlement space and the economic sphere, should be developed. Issues regarding cultural homogeneity and the disintegration of cultural boundaries under the influence of political, eco-social and demographic changes will be considered.