Sequent Occupance The term "sequent occupance" was coined in 1929 by American geographer Derwent Whittlesey to describe: “the process by which a landscape is gradually transformed by a succession of occupying populations, each of which modifies the landscape left by the previous groups”

So in other words: The seeds of change are within a place: Determined by: Associated Ideas: culture is affected by the environment, but the environment does not determine culture (vs. environmental determinism) places change because a culture develops or a new culture dominates the landscape the comparative advantage of a place can be used again and again, regardless of the historical experience of a place Older construction/use can be benefit or a detriment to a site Environment and Culture

So do people live in the same places? Suggestions for answering this question? historical evidencemaps literaturearcheology Where should you look for sequent occupance? Site CharacteristicsAlmost anywhere people now live Associated Questions: What are benefits of occupying a place that had been inhabited? What are detriments of occupying a place that had been inhabited? Does the conqueror or conquered shape the culture/site most? Would you find cultural traits for a specific place, regardless of cultural change?

Site Characteristics Of the places people live, many tend to on rivers. The best place to find old large cities is just before you reach the delta. Name a city with this site characteristic. Why don’t people live in deltas? Another place is where two rivers meet. Why is this a comparative advantage? Shallow places on rivers allow people to ford (cross) the river. Towns often form there because it is a good place to cross. Ports are places that have deep water so it is easy to get out to sea. Often they are in protected places called harbors. Comparative Advantage: the idea that a place has certain advantages (relative and/or absolute) over other places.

This flowchart that attempts to determine comparative advantage

Locate the sites by characteristic SiteCharacteristics DefensiveDifficult to attack e.g. hill-top or island Hill-footSheltered, with flat land for building and farming GapLower, more sheltered land between two hills Wet pointClose to water in a dry area Dry point On higher, dry area close to wet land e.g. marshes or flooding rivers Route centreFocus of routes (e.g. roads) from surrounding area Bridging pointWhere bridges can be built over a river

FeatureReason / example Good defenceHard to attack e.g. hill top, island Close to waterFor water and fish supplies Close to woodlandFor fuel, building materials and food On useful farmlandTo provide food Flat landMakes building easier Good communicationsBy road and river The importance of individual site features changes through time: In Early Times (before 1800) FeatureReason / example Close to resourcesAs raw materials for industry e.g. limestone or coal Close to portsTo transport raw materials or goods Faster communication As industry grew and developed e.g. canals, railways and more recently, motorways and airports. Pleasant environment For a) larger number of retired people and b) hi-tech industries which wish to locate in attractive areas In Later Times (after 1800), other features became important when considering the site of a settlement

Culture Hearth a culture hearth is a source area, innovation center, a place of origin of a major culture

The Nile Valley

Map of Ancient Egypt and modern view from space at night Notice how easy it is to see the Nile River by its electric using population. How did/does this river impact its surrounding cultures? What areas seem less inhabited? Why?

This temple completed by Tutankhamun and Horemheb and added to by Ramses II. Towards the rear is a granite shrine dedicated to Alexander the Great. During the Christian Era it was converted to a church. The Romans even built fortifications on the site. Most of the site was buried for thousands of year until the mosque of Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-Hajjaj was built on top of it. Since the mosque is still being used this site has long been a center of religious worship for more than 3000 years. The Temple of Luxor

This is a market scene from a stela in Luxor. Identify activities that would be in a commercial setting today.

Vesuvius In 79 CE Vesuvius erupted for approximately 19 hours and dumped a cubic mile of lava and ash over the surrounding area. Herculaneum, which was covered by lava, and Pompeii, blanketed in ash, are the best known cities that were destroyed. It has erupted many times since, however people have continued to live not just in the vicinity, they have built over an ancient city that was covered with lava.

Inside the crater

Naples Herculaneum Scars from last major lava flow (1964)

Vesuvius Modern city of Ercolano Top of lava plain Excavated Roman city of Herculaneum

Modern Ercolanoedge of lava plainVesuvius

Wood left from 79 CE. Since the city was covered with lava, oxygen and biological life that helps decay could not break it down. Notice the charring from the intense heat.

Vesuvius overlooking the Roman forum at Pompeii.

A grim reminder of volcanic activity on the human form.

This is a Roman villa that is being reconstructed in Oplanati. Notice the edge of the lava plain on the right side of the picture and the modern city built on the plain.

Palimpsests In earlier times parchment was used as we use paper today. Parchment is made from either the skin of calves, sheep, or goats, and was expensive to make. A palimpsest was basically recycled parchment that someone had scraped off the ink and then wrote on for a second (or even third or fourth) time (see picture on the right). In similar fashion often people reuse or change places on the planet. Just like the old parchment, traces of earlier use can be detected. Geographers use this term to describe the traces of earlier cultural landscape at a location.

Many of the world’s major cities have palimpsests. Rome for example would have the Pantheon (top right), the forum (bottom right) and the Coliseum (above) in the heart of the modern city.

Athens, looking up to the Acropolis and looking down into the city. Some of the palimpsest aren’t ancient like the site of the first modern Olympics, which was cut off so they could build a road.

Amsterdam: a look at infrastructure Amsterdam after 1340 Amsterdam after 1425 In 1342 the mounds located on either side of the river Amstel were raised and extended, the initial stage in the growth of medieval Amsterdam.

after 1425 after 1585 after 1613 AMSTERDAMAMSTERDAM

Amsterdam after 1663 Amsterdam after 1613 Map by Blaeu (1640) For the most part, what look like roads on this map are canals. Canals were common in great cities until the last 200 years. What revolution changed this infrastructure?

Map by Nicolaas Visscher (approx. 1680)

Can you spot the palimpsest? Does this palimpsest contain still canals?

Present day Amsterdam Well yes,

Warmoesgracht nowWarmoesgracht then NZ Voorburgwal then NZ Voorburgwal now and no.

Changing of Chicago The two city models used to describe early 20 th century American cities show changes brought on by transportation systems.

Military Base Conversions During World War I and II Florida was the site of many training bases. There were site characteristics that made Florida attractive especially to flight training. First, Florida is flat, which means no mountains to hit. Second, there is a lot of water, an attractive alternative to hitting the ground if something goes wrong. Third, there wasn’t a whole lot of population, so you had a choice of emergency landing sites and little population pressure. Finally, Florida’s government has always encouraged anyone to come to Florida that has money and often turns its back on things that may upset the environment or become problems later.

Three shapes of military airfields used in WW 2. The earliest type, left over from when planes were constructed of wood and canvas, used the X-shape to take advantage of wind. Many of these were never paved. The middle design is common to airfields built by the Navy in WW 2 and the design on the right was common to Army Air Corps (now the USAF). Generally, airfields grew in length as planes became larger and heavier. Though it was flat there were mishaps, Arcadia WW1 top, Carlstrom (Arcadia in WW 2) left, and a typical scene at one of the training bases (Marianna) in WW2.

What became of the bases? Opa-locka, site during WW2. Notice that it incorporates the early and Navy design. Key West which was occupied by the government during WW2.

Top Left: Witham Field in Stuart, Left: Del Mabry Field, now TCC in Tallahassee, Above: Bush Gardens was once Henderson Field the biggest airport in Tampa Some of course are still airfields but many changed due to demand.

Daytona Naval Airbase was converted to the Daytona Speedway, replacing the traditional beach racetrack. What types of infrastructure would make a base an attractive place to convert to another usage? Electric LinesRoads Water and Sewage Systems What would be a detriment to using an old military site?

Gifts from Above Flagler Estates Odyssey Middle School was built on the northern portion of the Pinecastle Jeep bombing range. Among the munitions discovered in 2008: lb. concrete bomb lb. M75 bombs lb. fragmentation bombs lb. fragmentation bombs inch air-to-ground rockets 3 incendiary bombs 10 rifle grenades 35 M54 bombs 1 antitank rocket with detonator

To Review: What is sequent occupance? –Is it something new? –What are site characteristics that make some places more likely to be converted? –In the modern world, what types of infrastructure would make a place more likely to be converted to a new use? –Name some cities that have palimpsests. –Give examples of local sites that have been converted to a new use.

Vocabulary Concepts Comparative Advantage Palimpsest Infrastructure Bid rent Concentric Zone model and Sector model