Dynamics of Agrarian Landscapes of Southern Siberia in the XX — beginning of XXI centuries: Approaches to Research

Рассматривается понятие "культурный ландшафт", представлены результаты изучения агроландшафтов Южной Сибири.Based on Anglo-American and Russian works the article discusses theoretical approaches to cultural and agricultural landscape studies. The emergence in Russian anthropogeography of scientific concept of cultural landscape as a complex natural and cultural phenomenon is shown. Predominance of natural components in Russian comprehending of this category is noted. The opposite approach with particular attention to material artifacts in landscape-morphological C. Sauer school is characterized. The idea of changing landscapes which allowed him to present a historical dynamics of the American cultural landscape is analyzed. The reasons for spread since late 1970s the «reading» approach to cultural landscape are identified. The occurrence of palimpsest metaphor that reflects a new interpretation of the cultural landscape as a multi layered and multi-valued structure with traces of different eras is explained. It’s shown that attention of contemporary authors to the symbolic properties of cultural landscapes is due to the growing interest in the issues of cultural memory and local identity. The value for the Altai of agricultural landscapes, whose development is still determined by the ethnic factors, is revealed. The author concludes that there are prerequisites for comparative and historical studies of agricultural landscapes of Southern Siberia, with a focus not only on natural, but also on political, economic and socio-cultural factors