ABSTRACT
Supported by ecological information, the fields of humanities and history have been able to trace communities’ adaptations to ecological circumstances across time and reinterpret historical trajectories in this light. Previously, the most dominant frame of historical analysis has been intrinsically cultural, bypassing the constant dialogue between humans and other environmental factors. In this chapter, we aim to discuss and bring to the fore the constant fine-tuned and daily processes of observation, attention, hearing, and noticing that are the basis of a healthy socioecological balance. We do so, via the exploration of three examples: 1) the Chilean Atacama Desert; 2) the American Prairie; and 3) the Iberian Montado/Dehesas.
We will convey and explore the dormant perception that these landscapes can portray in contrast with the reality of a very active tension of forces constantly at play, advocating for the possibility of a simultaneously rich ecosystem and thriving human communal inhabitation and livelihood.
