Abstract
The concept of 'landscape historical ecology' has been adopted by many researchers across the spectrum of earth sciences, social sciences and humanities in recent decades as a means of offering both conceptual and practical tools for joining very different kinds of information into an assessment of human-environment interaction. The aims of this article are to outline the analytical potential of adopting the key precepts of historical ecology for the interpretation of the archaeological and historical signatures of the last 500 years of human settlement in eastern Africa, and to describe ongoing research being undertaken as part of the HEEAL project, with particular reference to the ecological and other transformations initiated following intensification of the ivory trade. The concluding section discusses the relevance of adopting similar approaches to the investigation of different southern African landscapes within the context of the FYI project.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 299-322 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | African studies |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- landscape historical ecology
- eastern Africa
- HEEAL project
- ivory trade
- KRUGER-NATIONAL-PARK
- ELEPHANT LOXODONTA-AFRICANA
- IVORY TRADE
- SOIL-EROSION
- SOUTH-AFRICA
- LAND-USE
- ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
- WORLD-SYSTEMS
- INDIAN-OCEAN
- IMPACT