Landscape history is the study of the way in which humanity has changed the physical appearance of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

– both present and past. It is sometimes referred to as

landscape archaeology Landscape archaeology, a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological theory, is the study of the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. It is also known as archaeogeography (from the Greek "ancien ...

. It was first recognised as a separate area of study during the 20th century and uses evidence and approaches from other disciplines including archaeology, architecture, ecology,

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircr ...

, rephotography,

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

and

historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...

Origin and scope

In England, landscape history emerged as an academic discipline following the publication of '' The Making of the English Landscape'' by

W. G. Hoskins William George Hoskins (22 May 1908 – 11 January 1992) was an English local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history. ...

in 1955, although some topics that are now considered part of landscape history had been identified earlier. Darby, for example, gives many early examples of regional characterisation of landscapes. Following Hoskins, landscape history expanded in various directions. There are published landscape histories of a number of English counties. Other authors have studied the landscape at earlier periods. One productive avenue has been the study of specific landscape features such as fields, villages, and so on. Managed woodland has been extensively studied by

Oliver Rackham Oliver Rackham (17 October 1939 – 12 February 2015) was an academic at the University of Cambridge who studied the ecology, management and development of the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture. His books incl ...

. The scope of landscape history ranges from specific individual features to areas covering hundreds of square miles. Topics studied by landscape historians include: *the form (morphology) of settlements – for example whether they are dispersed or nucleated; *the status of settlements – for example Anglo-Saxon multiple estates; *

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conv ...

s which provide evidence of earlier village forms; * field systems which can be used to date landscape features as well as illuminating earlier landscapes; * field boundaries or boundaries of larger units such as parishes or counties; * place-names which have been used to illustrate landscape features, particularly Anglo-Saxon place-names.

Techniques

Two complementary approaches can be used to study landscape history –

fieldwork Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

and desk research. Fieldwork involves physical inspection of the landscape to identify earthworks and other potential features. Documentary desk research involves finding references to landscape features in primary and secondary sources. Among the most useful documentary sources are maps. Modern aerial photographs are useful for identifying large-scale features; earlier aerial photographs may show features that have now been lost. The origin of features can often be related to the geology and ecology of the area being studied – for example the importance of

springs Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

and the suitability of the soil for different forms of agriculture. The presence of

indicator species A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

can be used to identify previous land use, for example bluebells suggesting

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

, particularly in the

East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

. Landscape features can also indicate earlier land usage. For example, a red hill in a coastal area is an indication of salt production. The historic landscape characterisation programme initiated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

provides a framework for standardising and recording information about landscape history, particularly to support the planning authorities.

Academic status

Few universities have a department of landscape history. Academic landscape historians are typically found within departments of archaeology, history, local history or continuing education. For example,

Nick Higham Nicholas Geoffrey Higham (born 1 June 1954) is a British journalist, most notably as a correspondent for BBC News. He was educated at Bradfield College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in English in 1975. ...

at Manchester has the title Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the school of history. Landscape history courses are typically post-graduate or extra mural. As a result, much of the work in landscape history is undertaken by amateurs (although often supervised by professionals in landscape studies).

Journals

''Landscape History'' is the name of a refereed journal published by the Society for Landscape Studies.Society for Landscape Studies website
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References

External links