Houses In A Landscape

In Houses in a Landscape, Julia A. Hendon examines the connections between social identity and social memory using archaeological research on indigenous societies that existed more than one thousand years ago in what is now Honduras. While these societies left behind monumental buildings, the remains of their dead, remnants of their daily life, intricate works of art, and fine examples of craftsmanship such as pottery and stone tools, they left only a small body of written records. Despite this paucity of written information, Hendon contends that an archaeological study of memory in such societies is possible and worthwhile. It is possible because memory is not just a faculty of the individual mind operating in isolation, but a social process embedded in the materiality of human existence. Intimately bound up in the relations people develop with one another and with the world around them through what they do, where and how they do it, and with whom or what, memory leaves material traces. Hendon conducted research on three contemporaneous Native American civilizations that flourished from the seventh century through the eleventh CE: the Maya kingdom of Copan, the hilltop center of Cerro Palenque, and the dispersed settlement of the Cuyumapa valley. She analyzes domestic life in these societies, from cooking to crafting, as well as public and private ritual events including the ballgame. Combining her findings with a rich body of theory from anthropology, history, and geography, she explores how objects—the things people build, make, use, exchange, and discard—help people remember. In so doing, she demonstrates how everyday life becomes part of the social processes of remembering and forgetting, and how “memory communities” assert connections between the past and the present.

Most homes built in the United States over the last fifty years were merely plopped down on a piece of land without any real integration of house and site. The result is a suburban sprawl of homes that are as uninspiring as they are environmentally unsustainable. House in the Landscape offers a viable alternative for landowners who want to build in a more thoughtful manner. Twenty-two houses by some of today's best-known residential architects illustrate nine site types from all over the United States. Each site, the issues it posed, the solutions the architects found, andthe resulting house design are discussed and explained in detail, providing a wealth of siting information for the reader.

Beginning in the tenth century, Chaco Canyon emerged as an important center whose influence shaped subsequent cultural developments throughout the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. Archaeologists investigating the prehistory of Chaco Canyon have long been impressed by its massive architecture, evidence of widespread trading activities, and ancient roadways that extended across the region. Research on Chaco Canyon today is focused on what the remains indicate about the social, political, and ideological organization of the Chacoan people. Communities with great houses located some distance away are of particular interest, because determining how and why peripheral areas became associated with the central canyon provides insight into the evolution of the Chacoan tradition. This volume brings together twelve chapters by archaeologists who suggest that the relationship between Chaco Canyon and outlying communities was not only complex but highly variable. Their new research reveals that the most distant groups may have simply appropriated Chacoan symbolism for influencing local social and political relationships, whereas many of the nearest communities appear to have interacted closely with the central canyon--perhaps even living there on a seasonal basis. The multifaceted approach taken by these authors provides different and refreshing perspectives on Chaco. Their contributions offer new insight into what a Chacoan community is and shed light on the nature of interactions among prehistoric communities.

... how to bring house and garden into perfect harmony.

- Offers dozens of modern architecturally designed homes integrated beautifully in the natural landscape, such as bushland, forests, hills or mountains- Provides richly illustrated pages filled with homes that display high-end contemporary design and an architectural passion for an organic integration with natural context and climate- Includes innovative architectural designs from across the globe, illustrating how design complements nature and climateThis book is a treatise on how to reconnect people with nature through contemporary architecture and design. At Home is about finding solace within the landscape in the bluffs, mountains, hills, woodlands, forests, bushland reserves or hinterlands without eschewing the mode of luxury living associated with sophisticated design elegance and innovative architectural features. Showcasing dozens of new, innovative architectural styles and interiors, these captivating and beautifully designed homes have taken indoor/outdoor living to a whole new level, blending architecture seamlessly into the surrounding vistas without resorting to architectural cliché. Each design documents the importance of place, engages context with climate, and offers residents with spaces that cater to different modes of family living, all the while being integrated organically within spectacularly dramatic yet serene settings.

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

Housing Culture is an inter-disciplinary study of old houses. It brings together recent ideas in studies of traditional architecture, social and cultural history, and social theory, by looking at the meanings of traditional architecture in western Suffolk, England. The author employs in an English context many of the ideas of Glassie, Deetz and other writers on the American colonies. In so doing, the book forms an important critique and refinement of those ideas, and should prove an indispensable background text for American historical archaeologists in particular. The study spans the late medieval and early modern periods, looking at the layout and structural details of ordinary houses. It argues for a process of closure affecting both technical and social aspects of houses. The context of the process of closure is explored and related to wider social and cultural changes including the feudal/capitalist transition. Housing Culture embodies an innovative and exciting approach to the study of artefacts in an historic period. It will interest historians, historical geographers and archaeologists of the medieval and early modern periods in both England and America. It is also sure to be of interest to students of all areas and periods who seek a theoretically informed approach to the study of traditional architecture and material culture in general. This book is intended for archaeologists, historians (particularly of landscape, architecture, the medieval period, social and cultural) historical geographers, students and researchers of material culture; such groups are found within departments of archeaology, history and anthropology.