This article is, in a way, a dissenting voice from the conviction that central European archaeology plays an essential role in settlement research. In central European archaeology, one constantly finds that a modified version of evolutionism is applied, based mainly on an intimate knowledge of the source materials, ordered into the most precise chronological sequences possible. Settlement research is not only a mere spatial study of a society but also a study of societies through space. For different research to be comparable, it is necessary to maintain similar rules and methods of explanation. This article deals with the traditional concepts of settlement research pertaining to central European archaeology.