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Town Analyses > Dummerston > Cultural Landscape

Explore Dummerston's landscape:

Physical Landscape
Bedrock Geology
Surficial Geology
Soils
Hydrology

Cultural Landscape
Prehistory
Early Settlement
Contemporary

Ecological Landscape
Plant Communities
Wildlife Habitat

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Cultural Landscape

Dummerston's cultural landscape includes all of the historical and contemporary elements of the human experience, from the earliest days of indigenous settlement following the departure of the glaciers, through the periods of European colonization, up to the present day.

Although it's easy to talk about the cultural landscape separate from physical and ecological geography, in reality all three facets are deeply interconnected, and indeed human communities are dependent on the living earth which sustains them.

Earth's physical features such as rivers and mountains and their associated vegetative communities have determined where people live and how they survive. Where there is water, people can fish; where there is clay, people can build homes out of bricks. Likewise, through use of these resources, humans have transforming impacts. Dams change the flow and course of rivers, and harvesting of trees for fuel and wood products alters the patterns of forest and wildlife habitat. Consequently, the heritage of almost every place on dry earth is a unique interplay of these dynamic forces.

Furthermore, the sequential narrative of human history is one that changes through time, as different resources become more or less available for daily use. In this section we will consider the linear time line of human land use choices in Dummerston, considering both how the physical and ecological parameters of this town have helped shape specific human endeavors, and likewise how culture has wrought great changes upon the face of the land.

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