Internet Archaeol. 16. Phillips. Putting the horse first

3.0 Putting the horse first

From the contextual definitions of landscape, three elements can be extracted: physical place, culture and history. These elements interrelate and impose constraints on human settlement (Fig. 2). It is contended here that an identification of these accommodations is necessary in order to understand human action. Firstly, the physical limitations are more familiar, and frequently discussed, as they overlap with geography and other physical sciences. Secondly, all cultures have developed their own norms for how a landscape should be lived in, and land use may vary considerably between peoples. Cultures will therefore confine themselves, through political, social and ideological means. Thirdly, historic or particular events will cut across the other constraints.