INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, landscape has emerged as a subject of some importance within postmedieval archaeology, although no single approach has come to dominate the field and perspectives range from those with a strict empiricism to those seeking an understanding of past experiences and meanings. At the same time, landscape has become more of a concern for other historical disciplines, each of which has its own perspective: drawing on diff erent evidence, employing its own methodologies and seeking to address its own interpretive concerns.

In the spirit of dialogue engendered by the Crossing Paths or Sharing Tracks? conference, my aim is to consider the benefits that a cross-disciplinary dialogue might have for our understanding of the post-medieval landscape, and the shape that such a dialogue should take. My starting point is a consideration of two current traditions in landscape archaeology, referred to here as evolutionary landscape history and the experiential approach. Each of these has made a significant contribution to landscape studies, but I will argue that neither is adequate in its current form.

To further the discussion, I will use the example of environmental history to exemplify the potential of a cross-disciplinary dialogue concerning landscape. This subject has brought historians, environmental scientists and others together through a common interest in the relationship between humans and the environment.