Landscapehasbeenakeythemeinworldarchaeologyandtrans-culturalarthistoryoverthelasthalfcentury,particularlyinthestudyofpaintinginarthistoryandinallquestionsofhumaninterventionandtheplacementofmonumentsinthenaturalworldwithinarchaeology.However,therepresentationoflandscapehasbeenratherlessaddressedinthescholarshipofthearchaeologically-accessedvisualculturesoftheancientworld.Thekindsofreliefs,objects,andpaintingsdiscussedherehaveasignificantpurchaseonmattersconcernedwithlandscapeandspaceinthevisualsphere,butwerediscoveredwithinarchaeologicalcontextsandbymeansofexcavation.ThroughcasestudiesfocusedontheinventionofwildernessimageryinancientChina,therelationofmonumentstolandscapeinancientGreece,theplaceoflandscapepaintinginMesoamericanMayaart,andtheconstructionofsacredlandscapeacrossEurasiabetweenStonehengeandtheSilkRoadviaPompeii,thisbookemphasisestheimportanceofthinkingaboutmodelsoflandscapeinancientart,aswellasthevalueofcomparativeapproachesinunderliningcoreaspectsofthetopic.Notably,itexploresquestionsofspace,bothactualandconceptual,includinghowspaceisconfiguredthroughformandrepresentation.
