In contrast to a natural landscape, a cultural landscape is defined as a landscape or region "carrying the imprint more or less of human activity," or "any landscape which is plainly altered by human involvement" (Jones 1988: 154). Human involvement in this context may include anything that alters the natural state of a region including but not limited to agriculture, forestry, mining, construction, and vandalism. Cultural landscapes can be ancient or new. Ancient cultural landscapes are those that have been continuously affected by humans for hundreds of years or more, while new cultural landscapes are those that have been created within the last few hundred years. It is important to understand that all cultures change the nature of their surrounding environments whether they intend to or not. The effects of these changes can be seen in the forms of art, architecture, and even natural features like dams and roads. Cultural landscapes contain many different elements in both tangible and intangible ways. Tangible elements include monuments (such as buildings or statues), artifacts (such as tools or weapons), and traces (like paths or tracks). Intangible elements include ideas, beliefs, values, and attitudes about life and nature that people have carried with them over time through stories, songs, and poems. Both ancient and new cultural landscapes contain all of these elements.