The Making of the Scottish Rural Landscape

Download or read book The Making of the Scottish Rural Landscape written by David Turnock and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at the evolution of rural settlement in Scotland from the Mesolithic period through to the improving movement of the 18th and 19th centuries. The main emphasis is on changes in society and technology, but the book also considers how the development of the physical landscape laid the foundation for such changes. The author strikes a balance between general perspectives (including relevant contextual materials such as the political structures) and local studies, with much emphasis on individual sites. Lack of documentation prior to the 10th century places particular importance on the archaeological evidence, but imaginative interpretation of this evidence has led to a major re-evaluation. Ideas emphasizing continuity of settlement and local adaptation are replacing older ’invasionist’ theories emphasizing Celtic war lords and broch-building pirates.