The theme of the blending of cultures and ethnic traits is a recurrent one in history. These early European settlers frequently combined old architectural concepts to create innovative American buildings also. An example is the Pennsylvania forebay or bank barn, a hybrid of traditional German and English barns. Architectural traditions are also evident in religious buildings. Churches are, of course, institutions that serve to maintain ethnic identity and bonds, and ethnic groups frequently built their churches in styles that were architecturally reminiscent of their homelands.
Agricultural systems are nearly as distinctive as housing patterns.
Traditional farmers typically sought soils and climates similar to those with which they were familiar. On this land they built traditional agricultural structures, and attempted to farm as they had at home. The distinctiveness of peoples and landscapes is a result of the blending of the settlers' own cultural heritage, the requirements of living in a new environment, social change via advances in medicine and technology, population growth and pressures, and existing native cultures. Reading the Land Those who study historical landscapes focus on what is visible on the surface of the land and on the relationship between the natural environment and the built environment. Historic landscapes can include ghost towns, early settlements or forts, mining communities, an entire rural community, cemeteries, battlefields or encampments, even neighborhoods in an urban area.