Research Catalog

Patterning within the historic landscape and its possible causes : a study of the incidence and origins of regional variation in southern England

Title: Patterning within the historic landscape and its possible causes : a study of the incidence and origins of regional variation in southern England / Alan Lambourne.
Author: Lambourne, Alan.
Publication: Oxford, England : Archaeopress : Available from Hadrian Books [distributor], 2010.

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Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	GF551 .L36 2010q Oversize	Off-site

Details

Description

x, 176 pages : illustrations, maps; 30 cm.

Summary

"The English landscape is extremely varied, due to geology, topography and climate, but also to the activities of human communities over several millennia. Scholars have long recognised patterns within this variation, such as the upland and lowland zones ... and the contrasting patterns of human settlement. The purpose of this research is to investigate the incidence of this patterning and then to suggest possible reasons for it. The study starts with a general introduction, in which some themes are identified and a number of conventions established. Regional variation is then discussed in theoretical terms, and the familiar geographical and cultural subdivisions of the historic landscape reviewed at the national level, leading to the identification of a distinct swathe of countryside which is called the 'Central Zone' for the purposes of this work. ... The various possible causal factors are then addressed in the context of a carefully chosen study area, and a number of conclusions are put forward. The existence of a Central Zone is supported, although no definitive delineation is suggested, and its orientation is shown to vary, depending on the period and criteria in question. Conventional explanations for regional variation are examined, and the conventional opposition between environmental and cultural factors is found wanting. Instead, a new dynamic is suggested, in which these broad groups of factors are seen to be operating together to create circumstances to which local communities respond by making calculations as to the best strategies to adopt, given their knowledge, resources and traditions. Their decisions determine the detailed development of the landscape, but these are circumscribed in turn by the predisposition of the community itself and of the landscape around it."--Abstract, p. i.

Series Statement

BAR British series ; 509

Uniform Title

BAR British series ; 509.

Subject

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-176).

ISBN

9781407306391
1407306391

OCLC

ocn607886677
607886677
SCSB-1550152

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library