35 34 European cultural landscapes: insights into origins and development MARiE-JOSé GAiLLARd, THiERRy dUTOiT, KARi HJELLE, TiiU KOFF, MiCHAEL O’CONNELL Introduction Understanding past processes involved in the development and long-term sur- vival of cultural landscapes is of key importance. A long-term perspective is particularly important given the scale and rapidity of recent change that is driven by the political, cultural and socio-eco- nomic developments, and the unpredict- able nature of future change for many of the cultural landscapes that still survive. A long-term perspective provides not only the backdrop but also necessary informa- tion for assessing risks to cultural land- scapes and devising appropriate long- term management strategies in a rapidly changing world. Longterm perspectives: methodological considerations Cultural landscapes are multi-faceted and so it is difficult for a single discipline to provide a complete answer to when, why and under which conditions particu- lar landscape developments took place. Reconstructing the history of a cultural landscape ideally requires interdisciplina- ry research. What can be achieved with such an approach is exemplified by the 6000-year history of the cultural landsca- pe of Skåne, southern Sweden (Berglund 2000). Studies of historical landscape deve- lopment may be based on documentary evidence such as maps, estate and legal documents, accounts by travellers and statistical data collected privately or by governments; see for example the detailed reconstructions for Britain (Rackham 2003). However, historical archives rarely go back further than the 17 th century and are invariably discontinuous. Cultural landscapes often predate such records and many are located in marginal areas where historical records are scanty. Palaeoecology, which has played a key role in elucidating the history of European cultural landscapes, uses as archives bog and lake deposits that began forming in most parts of Europe at the end of the last glaciation about 11.500 years ago (Fig. 1). Pollen and other fossils are an important part of this archive (Fig. 2). The main technique used, pollen analysis, has been greatly refined during recent decades so that it is now a most powerful tool for the reconstruction of past cultural landscapes and farming practices (Behre 1986; Gaillard et al. 1994). The herb pollen component is of particular signi- ficance for reconstructing land-use histo- ry while microscopic and macroscopic charcoal fragments inform on fire history and practices such as slash-and-burn. Archaeological excavation and survey combined with palaeoenvironmental stu- Fig. 1. Palaeoecology is the scientific discipline dealing with environmental history, including vegetation, flora, fauna, and climate history, on short to long-term scales. Palaeoecology involves use of techniques and ideas from many disciplines, some of which are indicated above. A multi-disciplinary approach, involving many of these disciplines, is essential for reconstruction of cultural landscape history. Coring to retrieve lake sediment, which is one of many archives of environmental change, is an important part of palaeoecology.