Alexander von Humboldt and the Origins of Landscape Archaeology

Landscape and Environment: Insights from the Prehispanic Central Andes

“…These were classically described by the geographers Pulgar Vidal (1981), Tosi (1960), and Troll (1968; Troll seems to be the conceptual forebear of Pulgar Vidal and Tosi, as well as Murra (Gade 1996). Inspired by von Humboldt's pioneering work (Mathewson 1986) and drawing on more recent work on ''man-land'' relationships in the Americas by Sauer (e.g., 1956Sauer (e.g., , 1958, these geographers drew on both scientific description of ecological zones, defined by such geographic factors as altitude, temperature, and insolation (Tosi and Troll), and the identification and formalization of indigenous ethno-classification of altitudinal and ecological zones (Pulgar Vidal). These coarsegrained, sweeping studies have been complemented by detailed examinations of the ecological situations of particular communities (e.g., Brush 1976Brush , 1977Mayer 1979;Winterhalder and Thomas 1978).…”

Humboldt's Nodes and Modes of Interdisciplinary Environmental Science in the Andean World*

“…First, the attention Humboldt paid to Andean languages-which reflected in part the influence of his brother Wilhelm, who had already become an accomplished linguist-did not indicate an approach that could be ascribed to ethnography or ethnology per se (Salomon 1985). Nonetheless, it did reveal sensitivity to cultural practices and a penchant for weighing diverse sorts of scholarly evidence that support the claims of Humboldt's founding contributions to landscape archaeology and cultural geography (Mathewson 1986;Gade 1999). Second, the findings of this study are relevant to the interpretation of Humboldt through the lens of "transculturation," in which he "undertook to recreate [sic] South America in connection with its new opening to Northern Europe" (Pratt 1992,119).…”

“…(Humboldt 118081 1850,393-394) In this passage Humboldt drew on his firsthand observations of Inca ruins, not only the imperial roadway but also its roadside inns (turnbos) and nearby palaces. Although the passage depicts his observations in Cajamarca, he also recorded extensive notes on a variety of sites in present-day Ecuador (Mathewson 1986;Walls 2006). In framing his observations of the Inca ruins and formulating his interpretations, Humboldt helped pioneer a perspective of landscape archaeology that placed em-phasis on understanding the context of individual sites within the cultural landscapes that had been forged from the physical environment (Mathewson 1986; Denevan, Mathewson, and Knapp 1987).…”

“…Although the passage depicts his observations in Cajamarca, he also recorded extensive notes on a variety of sites in present-day Ecuador (Mathewson 1986;Walls 2006). In framing his observations of the Inca ruins and formulating his interpretations, Humboldt helped pioneer a perspective of landscape archaeology that placed em-phasis on understanding the context of individual sites within the cultural landscapes that had been forged from the physical environment (Mathewson 1986; Denevan, Mathewson, and Knapp 1987). As a complement to this field study, Humboldt demonstrated his familiarity with the foremost written descriptions of the early colonial period that described these sorts of remains as well as various other aspects of the pre-European past of the Andes.…”

“…. , despite the evident significance of notions of the 'field' and practices of 'fieldwork' for the development of the discipline" (see also Mathewson 1986;Gade 1999;Sluyter 2oo6a, 2006b).…”