摘要：Territorial hedges in « house-centred societies » in South-Western France are markers of structurally stable space and neighbourhood relationships. However they were modified following the crisis in rural society during the 20th century. The aim of this paper is to understand the evolving implications of the neighbourhood relationships in the territory through observation of hedge structure. Our investigations with 20 “houses” of a village in the Pyrenean piedmont village show that hedges mark two types of social borders. First ancient hedges are reinforced on the borders of the property and serve to separate “houses”. These ancient hedges illustrate the persistence nature of the “house-centred system” on the organisation of the territory. Second hedges appear to hide houses and separate individuals, suggesting changing attitudes in neighbourhood relationships. These hedges are subjects of conflicts among local residents who likely fear visual proof that their rural surroundings are destined for ruin.
