Marginal Lands? An Overview of the Environmental Contexts of Cultural Landscapes in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland

Abstract

This introductory paper offers an overview of some of the environmental contexts of cultural landscapes in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The changing so‐called ‘marginality’, in several senses of the word, of a series of examples of the cultural landscapes of the Highlands and Islands is examined in relation to environmental limits and socio‐economic factors. ‘Cryptic cultural landscapes’ (those with altered ecologies which have been strongly influenced by human activity but which are without obvious built artefacts) feature alongside those that may appear more obviously ‘cultural’. Comparisons are made with global examples of other cultural landscapes in which environmental limits have been stretched or breached by the ecological footprint of past human societies. Mention is made of some strategies for the creation of ecologically enhanced—and therefore more environmentally robust—cultural landscapes, and the possible future contribution of these to human communities and the environment.

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