Landscape Use and Transhumance in the Sierra Morena through the Ages

Abstract

In a diachronic view over large parts of the last 5000 years which focuses mainly on the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age, Roman Period, Late Middle Ages and the Modern era, Sierra Morena appears as a ResourceAssemblage in which livestock farming and the associated cattle drive, forestry and ore mining played a central role. Over time, different strategies are becoming visible with which the specific natural conditions of this mountain landscape are being countered. These are often complemen-tary to the resources and their forms of use in the neighbouring fertile river valleys of the Guadalquivir and Guadiana. In a historical view, the ways of dealing with the respective important resources in the Sierra Morena are examined in relation to the ways of using the neighbouring landscapes. Long-term trends are also sought which characterise the specific ResourceCultures, perceptions, use and representations of the landscape in the Sierra Morena. Important aspects are the associated effects on the socio-cultural dynamics in the region.