When I began this book (some years ago now), I intended to argue and document the proposition that the physical landscapes of the Mediterranean mountains are often recent creations. I hope I have persuaded the reader of that. But as the book progressed it acquired a broader purpose: to explain how the physical and social landscapes of this mountain world have come to be, and how they have affected one another. In other words, while not setting out to do so, and shortsighted enough not to see from the start where things would lead, I have wrestled with one of the oldest questions in geography and history: the relationship between humankind and nature. In the process of being pinned to the mat, I have learned some interesting things about my chosen mountains and about other mountains in the Mediterranean world. All this has provoked some musings about other parts of the world (I will keep them brief).

The Mediterranean landscape bears the scars of ancient wounds. Many of its lowlands have been intensively farmed for eight thousand years, have been subject to all manner of disruption, yet still give good yields.