The moorlands of England and Wales : an environmental history 8000 BC to AD 2000 / I.G. Simmons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simmons, I. G. (Ian Gordon), 1937- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Moors (Wetlands)--England--History.

Moors (Wetlands).

Moors (Wetlands)--Wales--History.

Heathlands--England--History.

Heathlands.

Heathlands--Wales--History.

Nature--Effect of human beings on--England--History.

Nature.

Nature--Effect of human beings on--Wales--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 414 pages) : illustrations, maps

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2009.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748617319);This is a history of the moorlands and the part they have played in English and Welsh history over ten millennia. Ian Simmons combines the perspectives of natural science, archaeology, social history and historical geography, and draws on forty years of exploring and studying the moorlands. Starting with a description of their origins and how they have changed under the impact of human and natural forces, Simmons shows how perceptions of the moors have been influenced by writers, artists and the media (and how they have been inspired by the moors), and how these perceptions have resulted in great changes in attitudes to moorland use and management.The book begins by offering some concise understanding of the physical and natural characteristics of moorlands. It then gives an account of how hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic period altered their surroundings using fire. It describes how millennia of agricultural production wrought distinctive moorland landscapes and how these in turn were affected and sometimes transformed by industrialisation, afforestation and changes in farming methods. The renewed impetus in the twentieth century for environmental management and conservation brings the story near to the present.The North Pennines, Dartmoor and South Wales are the subject of detailed accounts that reveal the common characteristics of the moorlands as well as their marked contrasts. Beyond the recent crises of overgrazing and the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak, Ian Simmons lays out some possible futures for the moors."

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Note to readers

Chapter 1 'THE HUGE EXPANSE OF THE MOOR'

Chapter 2 THE MILLENNIA OF THE HUNTER-GATHERERS

Chapter 3 THE MILLENNIA OF AN AGRICULTURALIST ECONOMY

Chapter 4 INTO AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY

Chapter 5 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND NATURE CONSERVATION

Chapter 6 MORE DETAILED HISTORIES

Chapter 7 REPRESENTATIONS FROM THE IMAGINATION

Chapter 8 'Too FAR FOR YOU TO SEE'

Locations

Glossary

Acronyms and abbreviations

Select bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 406-407) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4744-7261-3

OCLC:

1306538342