Projects per year
Abstract
History does not unfold along a single trajectory, and yet the socioecological configuration of
landscapes may narrow the directions history can take. This article develops a framework for assessing
the directionality of history in a (pre)historic heath landscape in Denmark. To make a living from the
heaths, people concentrated the heath’s limited fertility through pastoralism, swidden agriculture,
and/or manuring. At different points in time, the balance of these strategies differed radically. We use
this insight to evaluate the trajectorial affordances of different agropastoral regimes across the
longue-durée period c.1600 BCE-1850 CE. Trajectorial affordances is our term for describing the
historicaldirectionalitiesheld in potentialandactuatedby specifichuman-landscapeengagements. We
use our model to interrogatethe seemingly linear evolutionof the nutrient-concentratingsystems from
‘simple’ herding practices of the Early Bronze Age to more ‘advanced’ manure-based agriculture in the
nineteenth century. Although the nineteenth-century system was sophisticated, it centred on a
gruelling manuring practice that unleashed destructive sand drifts. We argue this mode of agriculture
arose with the gradual constriction of livelihood options associated with civilizational expansion. Our
analysis grapples with the open-ended nature of human-landscape becoming and the dynamics of
what Ian Hodder calls entrapment.
landscapes may narrow the directions history can take. This article develops a framework for assessing
the directionality of history in a (pre)historic heath landscape in Denmark. To make a living from the
heaths, people concentrated the heath’s limited fertility through pastoralism, swidden agriculture,
and/or manuring. At different points in time, the balance of these strategies differed radically. We use
this insight to evaluate the trajectorial affordances of different agropastoral regimes across the
longue-durée period c.1600 BCE-1850 CE. Trajectorial affordances is our term for describing the
historicaldirectionalitiesheld in potentialandactuatedby specifichuman-landscapeengagements. We
use our model to interrogatethe seemingly linear evolutionof the nutrient-concentratingsystems from
‘simple’ herding practices of the Early Bronze Age to more ‘advanced’ manure-based agriculture in the
nineteenth century. Although the nineteenth-century system was sophisticated, it centred on a
gruelling manuring practice that unleashed destructive sand drifts. We argue this mode of agriculture
arose with the gradual constriction of livelihood options associated with civilizational expansion. Our
analysis grapples with the open-ended nature of human-landscape becoming and the dynamics of
what Ian Hodder calls entrapment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |
| ISSN | 1359-0987 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub / Early view - 2025 |
Projects
- 1 Active
-
ANTHEA: Anthropogenic Heathlands: The Social Organization of Super-Resilient Past Human Ecosystems
Løvschal, M. (PI), Ombashi, H. (Participant), Caple, Z. A. (Participant) & Haughton, M. (Participant)
01/08/2020 → 01/08/2027
Project: Research
Activities
- 1 Participation in or organisation af a conference
-
A Place for the Heathlands?
Løvschal, M. (Organizer)
5 Feb 2025 → 7 Feb 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in or organisation af a conference