Mary Ann Ochota: "Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape" | Talks at Google

source: Talks at Google     2016年12月19日
Mary-Ann Ochota is known for programmes like Britain's Secret Treasures and Time Team, and she joined us to discuss her new book Hidden Histories. When you drive past a lumpy, bumpy field, ever wonder what made the lumps and bumps? And when you walk into a picturesque village, ever wondered how old it is? Mary teaches how to understand the features in the fascinating British landscape, and give tips, both entertaining and practical, on what to spot and where to go. Recorded in London, December 2016.

About the book:
For the times when you’re driving past a lumpy, bumpy field and you wonder what made the lumps and bumps; for when you're walking between two lines of grand trees, wondering when and why they were planted; for when you see a brown heritage sign pointing to a 'tumulus' but you don't know what to look for… Entertaining and factually rigorous, Hidden Histories will help you decipher the story of our landscape through the features you can see around you.
This Spotter's Guide arms the amateur explorer with the crucial information needed to 'read' the landscape and spot the human activities that have shaped our green and pleasant land. Photographs and diagrams point out specific details and typical examples to help the curious Spotter 'get their eye in' and understand what they're looking at, or looking for. Specially commissioned illustrations bring to life the processes that shaped the landscape (from medieval ploughing to Roman road building).

About the author:
Mary-Ann Ochota is a British broadcaster and anthropologist specialising in anthropology, archaeology, social history and adventure factual television. She grew up in the Northwest of England and studied archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge.
Ochota has reported for Channel 4's foreign affairs documentary strand, Unreported World, and contributed to both series of the ITV archaeology programme Britain's Secret Treasures presenting the history of artefacts. She presented the three-part series Raised Wild for Animal Planet, investigating cases of 'feral' children, defined as children either raised by or with animals, or children who had survived for a significant period in the wild, and she was the co-presenter of Channel 4's archaeology show Time Team with Tony Robinson.
You can follow Mary on Twitter at @MaryAnnOchota