SUGGESTED QUESTIONS on the topic of SEQUENT OCCUPANCE



Multiple Choice

1. The shaping of a cultural landscape over time by various groups is best described as:
a. sequent occupance
b. cultural divergence
c. cultural convergence
d. polyculture
e. geomorphology

2. All of the following exist as cultural landscape imprints except:
a. fencing types
b. housing types
c. agricultural land use
d. public monuments
e. religious beliefs

3. In which place would one expect to find the landscape least affected by sequent occupance?
a. Mexico
b. South Africa
c. Japan
d. India
e. Israel

4. Historically, which of the following groups did not play a part in the sequent occupance of England?
a. Romans
b. Vikings
c. Celts
d. Slavs
e. Normans

5. The material evidence of human subsistence, shelter and production is known as:
a. artifacts
b. sociofacts
c. mentifacts
d. environmental determinism
e. toponyms



6. All of the following can affect the imprint left on the landscape by different populations except:
a. social values
b. topography
c. culture
d. resources
e. race

Short Answer

1. Interpret the following passage from Willa Cather's famous novel about pioneer life on the American Great Plains on the basis of cultural landscape.

"Cautiously I slipped from under the buffalo hide, got up on my knees and peered over the side of the wagon. There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. If there was a road, I could not make it out in the faint starlight. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are make....I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were out side man's jurisdiction." (Willa Cather, My Antonia. Boston: Houghton Miffin, 1918, p. 7)

2. It might be expected that, since many European migrants settled in the United States as group, they would have reproduced the landscapes of their former homelands. Apart from New England, however, few areas experienced sustained attempts to recreate Old World landscapes. Explain.

3. Plaza of Three Cultures in downtown Mexico City, Mexico. Figure A shows a photograph of a plaza in downtown Mexico City known as the "Plaza of Three Cultures". Identify the features which give the plaza its name and explain how they came to be there.



Constructed Response (Essay)
1. Cultural Geographers have used the following terms, presented with their definitions, to described the humanized landscape. Select one of the terms and explain how it could be appropriately applied to a specific landscape of your choosing.

Collage: An artistic composition of fragments of material pasted on a surface.
Palimpsest: A piece of writing material that has been used twice, or three times after the earlier writing has been completely or partially erased.





2. "Every inhabited area has a cultural landscape, fashioned from the natural landscape, and each uniquely reflects the culture that created it." (Jordan and Rowntree, 1990, p. 27)

Select an appropriate example from the real-world and explain how it illustrates the various points made in this quotation.



Performance Event .

Students research the history and sequent occupance of a locality and then visit it to document photographically the various cultural imprints in the humanized landscape. Students should also try to make photographs of nearby areas which might evoke the original natural landscape of the region. All items should be put together as a narrated slide presentation.



Portfolio Project .

This assessment would be very similar to the performance event described above. Prints would be substituted for the slides and would be either mounted on a poster or in a scrapbook. Written analysis replaces the narration of the performance event.

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