The document provides an overview of major pre-17th century influences on landscape and horticulture from the Neolithic period through ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome. It describes the origins and evolution of early gardens from the first agricultural settlements around 10,000 years ago. Key characteristics of gardens are outlined for each major time period and civilization, including formal designs in ancient Egypt, walled enclosures with water features in Persia, sacred groves in Greece, and urban courtyards and villa estates of the Roman era.

1. Major Characteristics of Pre 17th Century Influences on Landscape Hortykim Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2010

2. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. Pearl Buck Welcome to our interesting study of garden history where you will look at major characteristics from the Neolithic age through to contemporary New Zealand gardens. Gardening is an ancient art in which people have created gardens for a combination of practicality and style. In order for us to create gardens, it is important to study design principles, elements and features from the past in order to see where we are today. We hope you will enjoy this journey back in time and be inspired by the past garden styles from all over the world, many of which we will be able to link to gardens today.

3. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck Your time travel begins in the Neolithic period which is also known as the New Stone Age, or Neolithic Revolution. Identifying exactly when agriculture/gardens began is difficult because the move from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural societies started thousands of years before the invention of writing, estimated to be around 10,000 years ago.

4. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 Here is an example of a time line which outlines major achievements and characteristics of the Neolithic Age. ~Pearl Buck

5. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The Neolithic revolution was a gradual event which started first in Mesopotamia. Prior to this stage in history people were hunter - gatherers. It is likely the transition started by the hunter-gatherers realizing that some of their favorite food plants did much better when they cleared away weeds and provided protection for the plants. From there they went on to collect and save the seeds and plant them all in one lush spot. Petroglyphs in Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture.

6. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck Evidence of the first gardens providing food were found in: The Middle East- 8000 B.C (grapes, pomegranates, figs, olives and dates) Mexico-7600 BC New Guinea- 7000 BC China-6000 BC Egypt -3000 BC

8. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The transition between the Neolithic Revolution into the Bronze Age is estimated to be around 3000 BC and is one of the most significant eras in human history. It is a period characterized by metalworking, the increasing importance of domesticating and herding animals and the wider variety of cultural groups. The Bronze Age spans 3300-1200 BC and will have occurred in different geographic areas and at different time spans, depending on the cultural group. Bronze Age weaponry and ornaments

9. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck For example: Bronze Age Mesopotamia started around 2900 BC and included the Sumer, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires and is widely considered the cradle of society. The area of land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is said to have been the location of a very famous garden - although whether or not it truly existed is open for debate. What garden would this be?

10. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The origin of the words garden, yard, orchard and horticulture stem right back to the origins of Indo-European language and a word used then - ghordos. Ghordos was a word used to describe an area which was fenced to protect selected trees and plants. From the original ghordos enclosures came the development of gardens which started to take on more than a strictly utilitarian feel and move more into adding whimsy and beauty.

11. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The oldest documented garden is from Egypt around 1400 BC. The clues about the characteristics of gardens during this time come from carvings or paintings found in tombs of important leaders of this era. For example: This fresco from the Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, 18th Dynasty, shows a rectangular fishpond with ducks and lotus surrounded by date palms and fruit trees.

12. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The image here is from a book called The History of Gardens by William Thacker and is a carving from the tomb of Akhnaton - again 18th dynasty (1550-1300 BC). The trees and plants have been placed randomly and intensively planted inside an enclosure where the outside walls match the shape of the pool in the centre of the garden. This style continues into the Middle Ages (5th-16th century) and is still with us today. Can you think of a garden in this formal style that exists today?

13. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The early depictions of gardens suggest that the Egyptians were among the first to have a play with topiary. This image shows a modern revival where traditional topiary fills the squares of the parterre at the Château de Villandry, France

15. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The iron age is the last prehistoric period which follows the Bronze Age and begins around 1300 BC, although dates vary, depending on geography. For example : Egypt (1300 - 600 BC) India (1200 - 200 BC) Europe (1200 BC - 400 AD) Sri Lanka (1000 - 600 BC) China (600 - 200 BC) Japan (300BC - 500 AD) Korea (400 - 60BC) Nigeria (400 BC - 200 AD) This photo is from a working replica of an iron age farm located in Butser, Hampshire. Estimated time period between 400BC and 400AD.

16. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The Iron Age is a period characterized by tools and weapons made of iron and steel. The adoption of this material sparked changes in farming practice, religious beliefs and art. A famous garden from this era was located in Babylon and was built by Nebuchadneezer (605-562 BC). 16th Century hand-colored engraving of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon by a Dutch artist, Martin Heemskerck.

17. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The early pre 17th Century gardens in Persia (now Iran), like the Egyptian, continue to influence our designs of today. These early gardens (from 500 BC) evolved as a response to the climate and geography of the area which is hot and arid with areas of desolate plains stretching as far as the eye can see. The characteristics of the gardens of this era were often woven into carpets. The Pazyryk Carpet is the oldest known surviving carpet in the world, dated 5th Century BC.

18. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck This photo, from The History of Gardens by Christopher Thacker, shows a carpet which depicts a typical garden of this era. It shows multiple borders of trees and plants. There are four quarters divided by four waterways and a central platform called a chabutra which has four trees in each corner, representing the shade offered by a revered tree, the tuba tree.

19. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The Persian garden was enclosed with large trees and plants for shade from the searing heat outside the walls. The garden would have a water feature to enhance the tranquility of the space. Fruit and flowers would flourish in the rich, fertile soil, in complete contrast to the hostile expanse of the surrounding desert.

20. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The Persians also developed large enclosed hunting parks called pairidaeza. This word was later changed to paradeisos by the Greeks and meant a kingly or sumptuous park. From there the word was again taken by the Hebrew language where it was used to describe the Garden of Eden, The Celestial Paradise. The Garden of Eden by Lucas Cranach der Ältere, a 16th Century German depiction of Eden.

21. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck Origins of Persian gardens may date as far back as 4000 BC. Cyrus the Great’s pairidaeza garden dates back to 500 BC and the outline of the garden is still viewable today! One of the oldest accounts of Persian Gardens was made in the 17th Century by Engelbert Kaempfer who converted his careful drawings into detailed engravings after his return to Europe. They show chahar b ā gh type gardens with the following features: an enclosing wall, rectangular pools, an internal network of canals, garden pavilions and lush plantings. Eram Garden is a famous historic Persian garden in Shiraz . Iran

22. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The first gardens in Greece (400 BC - 200 BC) were located in Athens and were small simple spaces devoted to the study of gods, heros and nature. The Egyptians and Romans both gardened with vigor, but the Greeks did not own private gardens. They did, however, put gardens around temples and adorned walkways and roads with statues. The ornate and pleasure gardens that demonstrated wealth in the other communities are absent. Temple of Hephaestus, Athens. with myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century

23. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck There are written accounts by philosophers of significant gardens, one of which includes the gardens of The Academy (Plato’s school founded in 387 BC). Before the Academy was a school it was a sacred grove of olive trees dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Within the enclosure of the Academy were small temples, shrines, tombs and trees. myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century Plato's academy, mosaic from Pompeii.

25. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The small and useful garden was enclosed by walls or hedges of thorn which were strictly functional in order to keep out cattle or thieves. There was no sculpture, but perhaps a roughly carved tree trunk to honor the god of the gardens. Flowering plants like hyacinth, roses and marigold would be grown and picked to sell at markets in the city. There were also vegetables and herbs grown and it is this style of garden that is the first type of cottage garden that continued for the next 2000 years. myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century Reconstruction of the garden of the House of the Painters in Pompeii

26. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The Roman urban house was built around a central garden courtyard called an atrium. This type of garden was the direct antecedent of the medieval European monastic cloister and court garden. myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century Reconstruction of the Roman garden of the House of the Vettii in Pompeii

27. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck Roman gardens were influenced by Egyptian, Persian, and Greek gardening techniques. Formal gardens existed in Egypt as early as 2800 BC. During the 18th dynasty in Egypt, gardening techniques were fully developed and beautified the homes of the wealthy. Porticos were developed to connect the home with the outdoors and created outdoor living spaces.. myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century Under the portico of the Pantheon

28. Origins of the Garden Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck The more sophisticated Roman villa gardens became the model for 16th Century Italian Renaissance gardens one thousand years later. Replicas of temples and buildings of this Roman period would also be seen again in 18th Century English gardens myrtle and pomegranates in the 3rd-century

30. References and Resources Hortykim, Otago Polytechnic 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic - Neolithic Age http://wapedia.mobi/en/History_of_gardening?t=3.5 . - History of Gardening http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age - The Bronze Age http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age - Iron Age http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_gardens - Persian Gardens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_gardens - Greek Gardens http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/gardens.htm - Egyptian Gardens Brooks, J., Room Outside, Thames & Hudson, 1969 Newton, N.T., Design on the Land, Belknap, Harvard University, 1971 Thacker, C. , The History of Gardens, Reed,1979 The full online text of Marie-Luise Gothein's History of Garden Art