Perception of Plants in Ancient Times and Their Use as Motifs Revealing Aspects of the Cultural Landscape in Side, Turkey

ATİK M., Danaci H. M., Erdogan R.

LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, vol.35, no.3, pp.281-297, 2010 (SSCI, Scopus)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 35 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2010
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/01426391003743579
  • Journal Name: LANDSCAPE RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.281-297
  • Keywords: Cultural landscape, perception, plant myths, city of Side
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Landscape can be defined as a complex of human and natural interactions through time. Therefore, landscape identification requires a complete understandingof social, natural, economic, aesthetic and cultural values. Contributing to the aesthetic-visual integrity of the landscape, plants are a valuable indicator, recording the type and degree of the human-nature relationship over time. Our feelings, imagination and perception often contribute to the cultural dimension ofthe landscape and the role of plants in mythology can be used as a kind of linguistic code for helping to understand some aspects of cultural landscapes. Theaim of this study is to demonstrate how a number of key plants were perceived in ancient cultures using some examples from the Mediterranean landscapeand to use them to help to evaluate different dimensions of archaeological landscapes using the case of the ancient city of Side in Turkey. Multi-dimensional approaches in landscape evaluation which use symbolic meaning can generate valuable knowledge about cultural landscapes. This is precisely becausecultural landscapes are the sum of biological, physical and cultural components, while plants as natural elements have bridged the biological and culturaldimensions.

Landscape can be defined as a complex of human and natural interactions through time. Therefore, landscape identification requires a complete understanding of social, natural, economic, aesthetic and cultural values. Contributing to the aesthetic-visual integrity of the landscape, plants are a valuable indicator, recording the type and degree of the human-nature relationship over time. Our feelings, imagination and perception often contribute to the cultural dimension of the landscape and the role of plants in mythology can be used as a kind of linguistic code for helping to understand some aspects of cultural landscapes. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how a number of key plants were perceived in ancient cultures using some examples from the Mediterranean landscape and to use them to help to evaluate different dimensions of archaeological landscapes using the case of the ancient city of Side in Turkey. Multi-dimensional approaches in landscape evaluation which use symbolic meaning can generate valuable knowledge about cultural landscapes. This is precisely because cultural landscapes are the sum of biological, physical and cultural components, while plants as natural elements have bridged the biological and cultural dimensions.