Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2010. / "Graduate Program in Sociology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 522-533).

<p>The research work addresses the changes that occurred in the valley and the Yungas of Cochabamba during the Inka Horizon (1400-1538 AC) while introducing in an exploratory way, the Late Intermediate (1100-1400 AC) and the Middle Horizon (400-1100 AC) periods. In theoretical terms, we emphasize the local human agency (individual and social) as important elements in order to understand the processes of social change. We assume that the complex relational webs generated by the Inka presence in the valleys and the Yungas appear as "traces" in the space (as constructed landscapes: social, agro-hydrological, sacral, administrative, war landscapes etc.) that can be seized from two sources, archaeological and historical, that are seen as complementing each other. </p><p>We carried out two case studies in the Yungas of Tablas Monte and Inkachaca /Paracti. In both areas, previously unknown to Bolivian archaeology, we examined the impact of the Inka. Based upon material evidence, such as the sophisticated agro-hydrological system sustained by an intensive use of the stone as well as documentary data, we discuss the presence of warrior groups, i.e. that the arrival of the Inka had a relative impact in this area.</p>

Southern Paiute people stipulate that when the world was formed, the Creator gave them sole possession of the lands that constitute the traditional Southern Paiute nation and the Creator gave them the responsibilities to tend to the land, resources, and each other. As a result, from these stewardship duties, Southern Paiute people developed complex socio-ecological methods for promoting and maintaining both ecological and spiritual balance. One method was used by medicine people or Puha'gants and it involved them traveling to special ceremonial areas to acquire knowledge and power. These journeys required Puha'gants to undergo intense purification and preparation and they traveled along designated trails to places far away from their home communities. The pilgrimage process allowed the pilgrims to gain knowledge and power at their destination places to use in ceremonies to restore balance and promote sustainability in their home communities. My dissertation study examines six pilgrimage trails across Southern Paiute territory in an effort to understand this process. As a way to frame my discussion, this analysis draws upon four concepts--(1) Southern Paiute place logic, (2) cultural landscapes, (3) pilgrimage, and (4) communitas. For trail systems under study, I examine the types of places visited and their associated performance characteristics, and specifically the types of relationships pilgrims, or Puhahivats with each other, the places visited, and objects used.

This report is the product of a study funded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) entitled, The Arizona Strip Cultural Landscape and Place Name Study. The study has five main objectives: (1) to provide an overview of American Indian Cultural Landscapes and their relevance for federal agency practices, (2) to describe the ethnographic, historic, and cultural bases for Southern Paiute communities’ access to particular sites within the Arizona Strip, (3) to identify Southern Paiute place names, trails, and stories associated with selected cultural landscape sites within the Arizona Strip, (4) to include descriptions of the cultural significance of natural resources and physical environmental features at selected cultural landscape sites, and (5) to determine the need for future studies based on gaps identified in the historic and ethnographic record. The study is intended to serve as a foundation for identifying and managing Native American resources, cultural sites and cultural landscapes on the Arizona Strip. This report is focused on direct interviews with Southern Paiute people at places in the Arizona Strip. These locations were chosen to represent kinds of places that are culturally significant to Southern Paiute people. These include rock art sites, archaeology sites, springs, rivers, canyons, mountains, lava flows, and areas with special vistas. These places were chosen by representatives of the involved tribes, Arizona Strip BLM staff, and the project director at the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona. This is a first study of its kind funded by the Arizona Strip and so a study goal was to see what kinds of contemporary cultural importance would be assigned by Indian people to kinds of places. It was thus impossible to go to all places of cultural significance in the Arizona Strip so the study lays a foundation for more comprehensive studies in the future.

The population of the city of Gauteng is expected to double by 2055 (Landau and Gindrey, 2008), which in turn is expected to exacerbate the effects of climate change within the city of Johannesburg. As pressure from the growing population and climate change mounts, existing open space will have to be assessed and its value will determine its function on a natural, social and economic level. This thesis explores the distinct spatial condition of the Johannesburg ridge as a contested landscape of sensitive ecologies and cultures. These remaining fragments of ecological infrastructures within the city can manifest spaces of encounters and introduce a discussion about climate change and the future. This dissertation investigates architecture’s mediating role in the contested landscapes, both physical and psychological. In terms of the physical landscape, any architectural interventions erected on the ridge would need to act as a mediator between the sensitive ridge ecology and the temporality of its diverse multicultural user composition. Design spaces and their proposed uses would need to work towards promoting a successful balance between different modes of knowledge. I propose a research institute located on the Melville Koppies West (MKW) ridge that will provide an interface between science and society that is accessible to the public. For the purpose of this dissertation I will call the research institute the Johannesburg Climate Change Observatory (JCCO). By creating a platform where different constituencies can overlap, new meanings can be negotiated and a cross-pollination of knowledge can thrive. I have studied the contested landscape extensively and have documented my observations through a series of interviews, photographs, mappings, sketches and physical models. The general consensus in the scientific community is that if we do not change the way we think about climate change by the year 2045 we will reach a point of no return for our planet. The JCCO is constructed to be dismantled because of the sensitive nature of the site and as a commentary on the nature of climate change. The intervention then becomes an extension of the site, improving ecological function and extending the existing sacred landscape. This in turn preserves the evolving palimpsest that is the Melville Koppies. As climate change affects communities all over the world the JCCO will become a critical intervention against entrenched practices that are contributing to climate change. It is a building typology that has been constructed through understanding the social dimensions of a physical phenomenon in a particular place, and is one that should be considered everywhere as each intervention of this nature needs to emerge from a similarly meaningful understanding relevant to the dynamics of different sites. The MKW presents a unique opportunity to preserve an ancient ecological landscape, to maintain an active cultural landscape, and at the same time, by respecting both, to create a new space that could give rise to new ideas and paradigms that in turn will lead to the transformative change required to address climate change.

The thesis is based upon research into the historical geography of the pastoral industry in the six major drainage basins in the North West of Western Australia, in an attempt to outline its early development, and to explain how the rangeland degeneration associated with the Big Drought of 1936-1946 was exacerbated by unrealistic official expectations and poor management, particularly of stations in the hands of absentee corporate owners. it discusses the failure of government agencies to appreciate the effects of overstocking in an environment characterised by climatic variability and fragile rangeland resources. It draws attention to the official reluctance to take action against the destructive activities of profit-seeking corporate owners in the period leading up to and including the Big Drought, and of speculative leaseholders in more recent times The thesis attempts to differentiate between the grassmen as leaseholders bent upon generating a sustainable income from the rangeland through conservative management, and the exploitative owners and their (often) incompetent managers. It identifies the specific characteristics of each of the basins in terms of the physical environment, the process of pastoral occupation and the resulting changing patterns of land use. It examines the changing nature of the habitat, economy and society of the Aboriginal people, from the days prior to European penetration up to the late 20th century It also considers the future prospects of the pastoral industry in each basin, with references to such issues as environmental impact, Aboriginal land rights and occupance, and the mining industry. As well as a comprehensive overview of the historical geography of each river basin, the thesis also includes a study of infrastructural elements and bf the activities of all groups of people involved in the development of the river basins.

The research work addresses the changes that occurred in the valley and the Yungas of Cochabamba during the Inka Horizon (1400-1538 AC) while introducing in an exploratory way, the Late Intermediate (1100-1400 AC) and the Middle Horizon (400-1100 AC) periods. In theoretical terms, we emphasize the local human agency (individual and social) as important elements in order to understand the processes of social change. We assume that the complex relational webs generated by the Inka presence in the valleys and the Yungas appear as "traces" in the space (as constructed landscapes: social, agro-hydrological, sacral, administrative, war landscapes etc.) that can be seized from two sources, archaeological and historical, that are seen as complementing each other. We carried out two case studies in the Yungas of Tablas Monte and Inkachaca /Paracti. In both areas, previously unknown to Bolivian archaeology, we examined the impact of the Inka. Based upon material evidence, such as the sophisticated agro-hydrological system sustained by an intensive use of the stone as well as documentary data, we discuss the presence of warrior groups, i.e. that the arrival of the Inka had a relative impact in this area.

In this research, the settling history of a site called Bash&uuml / y&uuml / k will be studied. This site is a village where a group of immigrants settled with the instruction of Ottoman Empire on early 20th century after their immigration from Caucasus. The first part of this study will elaborate the foundation of this site as an Ottoman village with Caucasian settlers in Konya Province / with respect to many settling legislations and other immigrant villages of the era. The second part will be discussing and elaborating the fore coming spatial and social transformations of this village from its foundation through Turkish republic to this day. Finally on the last part of the study, the notions of preservation, restoration and possible future scenarios of this 102 years old village will be discussed.

Understanding the place is an important step in cultural heritage management. Conservation Plan of James Kerr, which was derived from the principles of Burra Charter, pointed out that in preparing conservation plan for a heritage place, we should start from understanding the place. This includes gathering both documentary and physical evidences for coordination and analysis before assessing and stating the significance of the heritage place. This information will eventually become part of the conservation plan. Understanding is a process. It first involves the identification of the landscape assets of the place. Without the background information of the place, the formulation of any conservation plan may not be able to reflect the cultural significance of the place. Thus, all conservation works should start with understanding the place. King George V Memorial Park (the Park) located between Hospital Road and High Street at Sai Ying Pun of Hong Kong Island is a very special place in the western part of Hong Kong. The place where the Park is located, evolutes with the urban development at Sai Ying Pun and eventually becomes the major cultural landscape of the district. To understanding the Park, it is important to understand the historical development of the place and how it evolves into the Park. The original setting and context of the place can still be found on site. Investigation of these traits may reveal the historical importance of the place and lead to the understanding of the changing cultural landscape there. The layout and masonry walls of the Park exhibit certain trait of military structures. Through investigation, the wall was found to be the remnant of an important medical complex in early Hong Kong. The wall may help in reconstructing the early medical history and the development in the district and also the whole territory. However, the historical background of the site was fading out and only a few character-defining elements could still be traced. With the information available, it is suggest5ed to re-define the heritage significance of the Park. With a clear understanding on the historical facts and background of the sites, it is hoped that proper conservation programme may be formulated to address the need. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

This dissertation is about an important area in the discipline of architectural conservation, and it is cultural Landscape, defined as the combination of built and natural heritage resources. The understanding of the concept of “cultural landscape” is relatively new to Hong Kong, having been formally introduced by Dr. Ken Nicolson in 2002 as part of the syllabus of the postgraduate curriculum of HKU’s Architectural Conservation Programmes (ACP). Today, the people of Hong Kong are more aware of cultural landscape, and the term now appears in government documents. However, the concept has been with Hong Kong for a long time, expressed in the principles of fung shui. Many of Hong Kong’s cultural landscapes are influenced by fung shui and a common feature is fung shui woodland, which will be the focus of this dissertation. Fung shui is a belief system and a traditional form of landscape planning, and villages in Hong Kong and their woodlands are sited according to the principles of fung shui. The purpose of fung shui is clearly described in Yoon (1980). He stated that the aim of Fung Shui, is to maximize the wellbeing of human by maintaining the harmony between human and the nature. It is believed that all matter on the earth; both living and non-living things carry Qi or cosmic breath, which are responsible for ensuring posterity and vitality. Either insufficient or excessive Qi would result in decline and misfortune. In “Venturing Fung Shui Woods (2004)”, it is mentioned that some of the oldest fung shui woodlands in Hong Kong date back to more than 300 years. Fung shui woodland is an important element of rural Hong Kong cultural landscapes representing our traditional belief system and high cultural significance. The author also describes fung shui woodlands as like a living herbarium or plant museum, offering valuable resources for both academic research and nature conservation. A review of the recent literature on fung shui woodland, in Fung Shui View (2012), the authors explain the value of the fung shui woodland is not only in terms of ecological, but also social. From the above publication, it is clear that the fung shui woodland is one of the important cultural landscape elements in Hong Kong, which illustrates our tradition cultural beliefs and the important value of original village settlements. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation