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Industrial Archaeology, Landscapes, and Historical Knowledge of Sustainability

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The emergence of industrial life support systems in the last three centuries dramatically changed humanenvironmental relationships. Industrial landscapes are repositories of historical knowledge about this ecological revolution. The key components of industrial landscapes include landforms (for example, waste rock dumps from mines), industrial buildings and structures, vegetation and other biotic patterns, spatial organization such as settlement patterns, transportation networks such as railroads and canals, and small-scale components such as fences and mining claim markers. Industrial archaeology records the landscapes of “industrial islands” that cover geographical areas ranging from small local places to large regions or beyond. The geographical boundaries and organizational structures of these industrial landscapes vary in time. Historical events and processes that affect human-environmental relationships operate on multiple time and space scales. Such landscapes reflect the sensitivity of geographical places as a habitat for human occupation. Managing industrial landscapes, therefore, is an important pathway to preserving knowledge about the history of human-environmental relationships in the modern world.

Parent Publication

Keywords

monitoring, assessment, sustainability, Western Hemisphere, sustainable management, ecosystem resources, industrial life support systems, humanenvironmental relationships, industrial landscapes

Citation

Hardesty, Donald L. 2006. Industrial Archaeology, Landscapes, and Historical Knowledge of Sustainability. In: Aguirre-Bravo, C.; Pellicane, Patrick J.; Burns, Denver P.; and Draggan, Sidney, Eds. 2006. Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 514-517
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/26480