Plain of Plenty: Farming Practices, Food Production, and the Agricultural Potential of the Late Bronze Age (1600–1200 BCE) Argive Plain, Greece

Häftad, Engelska, 2024

Av Riia Elina Timonen, Riia Elina (Leiden University) Timonen

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The Argive Plain in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, was central to the Mycenaean culture during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1200 BCE). While known for its settlements and treasures, little is understood about its agricultural sustainability. This study examines Mycenaean farming in the Argive Plain and its societal implications, investigating if resource depletion contributed to the Bronze Age collapse.Using agricultural potential modelling, it reconstructs farming practices within the region’s political hierarchy, assessing sustainability through food consumption, energy needs, and land usage. Results indicate sustainable agriculture despite challenges like drought. However, ruling elites’ additional production needs may have strained resources. The thesis also addresses estimations of Neolithic and Bronze Age Aegean subsistence space, highlighting the overlooked impact of livestock on agricultural potential. By incorporating dairy and meat production, future models can better represent food production and environmental sustainability.This research enhances understanding of Mycenaean agricultural practices before the Bronze Age collapse, illustrating how elite formation likely influenced local communities and broader society.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2024-11-21
Mått205 x 290 x 12 mm
Vikt1 460 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor268
FörlagArchaeopress
ISBN9781803278551

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Arkeologiska perioder och områden inom Historia och arkeologi

Riia Timonen is a PhD Candidate in Bronze Age Aegean archaeology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She specializes in prehistoric and Bronze Age subsistence strategies, and early agriculture in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ms. Timonen has more than 10 years of field experience in Greece. Her previous publications include Timonen, R. & A. Brysbaert 2021. ‘Saving up for a rainy day? Climate events, human-induced processes, and their potential effects on people’s coping strategies in the Mycenaean Argive Plain, Greece’. In: Erdkamp, P., J. G. Manning and K. Verboven (eds.), Climate and Society in Ancient Worlds. Diversity in Collapse and Resilience. Springer.

Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Mycenaean society and economyChapter 3: The Late Bronze Age Argive PlainChapter 4: Reconstructing agricultural systems and agricultural potentialChapter 5: Late Bronze Age agriculture in archaeological dataChapter 6: Farming strategies and the agricultural potential of the LH III Argive PlainChapter 7: Reconstructing Mycenaean agriculture and subsistenceConclusionReferencesAppendix 1: Bronze Age chronological systemsAppendix 2: Summary table of the ethnographic studies used in the publicationAppendix 3: Modern soil fertility classesAppendix 4: Bronze Age macrobotanical finds from the Argive Plain sitesAppendix 5: Tree and maquis species present in the pollen cores of the Bronze Argive Plain (Lake Lerna and Kleonai) and the Southern Argolid (Limni Thermisia and Kiladha)Appendix 6: Domestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III deposits of the Argive Plain sites of Mycenae, Lerna, Midea, Tiryns, Asine, and TsoungizaDomestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III depositsAppendix 7: Comparative data of ovicaprid sizes and milk yieldsAppendix 8: Stocking rates for (modern indigenous) cattle, sheep, and goatsAppendix 9: The number, age, and sex of the Bronze Age human individuals whose skeletal material are used in this publicationAppendix 10: The nutritional values of foodstuffs used in the dietary analysis of this publicationAppendix 11: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to Diet model 1Appendix 12: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to diet model 2Appendix 13: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 1Appendix 14: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 2Appendix 15: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 1Appendix 16: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 2Appendix 17: The agricultural potential of the three Argive Plain neighbours; the Berbati and Nemea Valleys and Asine plateau