Curves turning into squares. Late Prehistoric landscape change and the changing morphology of ritual structures. Causality? An assessment of the evidence

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the later Bronze Age several parts of north-west Europe saw accelerated deforestation and expansion of agricultural land. In densely populated areas the first (man-made) open landscapes came into being. Simultaneously in the Netherlands and elsewhere more stable settlement patterns appeared as well as extensive and planned allotment. Within a relatively short period of time the landscape became much more ‘cultural’ and planned. The dominance of straight lines and rectangles in this open, parcelled-out and compartmentalised landscape markedly contrasts with the ‘natural’ curved lines and organic' shapes of the preceding half- open and spatially dynamic ‘wood-pasture’ type landscapes. The new landscape had a distinctly different morphology and this may have influenced the way humans perceived their environment. This altered landscape perception then may explain the shift from curvilinearity to rectilinearity in the shaping of ritual enclosures and burial monuments. The sole ambition of this short paper is to argue the case within available evidence, rather than claiming to be the last word on the topic.