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A Companion to Ancient Agriculture

David Hollander (Edited by), DB Hollander (Author), Timothy Howe (Edited by)

9781118970928, Wiley

Hardback, published 19 November 2020

736 pages
24.1 x 17 x 3.8 cm, 1.474 kg

A COMPANION TO ANCIENT AGRICULTURE

An authoritative overview of agricultural development in the ancient world

A Companion to Ancient Agriculture investigates the history and development of agriculture in the ancient world, focusing primarily on the Near East and Mediterranean regions. This unique text explores the cultivation of the soil and rearing of animals through centuries of human civilization—from the Neolithic beginnings of agriculture to Late Antiquity. Chapters written by the leading scholars in their fields present a multidisciplinary examination of the agricultural methods and influences that have enabled humans to survive and prosper.

Consisting of thirty-one chapters, the Companion presents essays on a range of topics that include economic-political, anthropological, zooarchaeological, ethnobotanical, and archaeobotanical investigation of ancient agriculture. Chronologically-organized chapters offer in-depth discussions of agriculture in Bronze Age Egypt and Mesopotamia, Hellenistic Greece and Imperial Rome, Iran and Central Asia, and other regions. Sections on comparative agricultural history discuss agriculture in the Indian subcontinent and prehistoric China while an insightful concluding section helps readers understand ancient agriculture from a modern perspective.

  • Presents a full-length biophysical and social overview of ancient agriculture
  • Provides clear accounts of the current state of research written by experts in their respective areas
  • Places ancient Mediterranean agriculture in conversation with contemporary practice in Eastern and Southern Asia
  • Includes coverage of analysis of stable isotopes in ancient agricultural cultivation
  • Offers plentiful illustrations, references, case studies, and further reading suggestions

A Companion to Ancient Agriculture is a much-needed resource for advanced students, instructors, scholars, and researchers in fields such as agricultural history, ancient economics, and in broader disciplines including classics, archaeology, and ancient history.

Acknowledgments xi

Contributor Biographies xiii

1 Introduction 1
David Hollander and Timothy Howe

Part I Plants & Animals 5

2 Paleoethnobotany and Ancient Agriculture 7
Alan Farahani

3 Zooarchaeology 37
Valasia Isaakidou

4 Stable Isotopes in Ancient Agriculture 55
Simone Riehl

5 Agricultural Plants in the Ancient Mediterranean 83
M. Eleanor Irwin

6 Animals: The Major Domesticates 103
Michael MacKinnon

Part II The Neolithic 119

7 The Beginnings of Agriculture 121
Phillip C. Edwards

Part III The Bronze Age 149

8 Agriculture in Bronze Age Mesopotamia 151
Michael Jursa

9 Egyptian Agriculture in the Bronze Age: Peasants, Landlords‚ and Institutions 173
Juan Carlos Moreno García

10 Agriculture in the Bronze Age Levant 193
Jens Kamlah and Simone Riehl

11 Agriculture in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age of Asia Minor 211
Andrew S. Fairbairn

12 Bronze Age Europe: Revolutions in Agricultural Adaptation 241
Lynne A. Kvapil

Part IV From the Early Iron Age to Late Antiquity (300s ce) 265

13 Greece and Anatolia, 1200–500 bce 267
Clémence Pagnoux and Julien Zurbach

14 Agriculture in Greece and Coastal Anatolia, 500–100 bce 289
Christophe Chandezon

15 Agriculture in Magna Graecia (Iron Age to Hellenistic Period) 317
D. Alex Walthall

16 Agriculture in the Hellenistic Kingdoms 343
J.G. Manning

17 Adapting to a Diverse Landscape: Agriculture in Hellenistic and Roman Anatolia 363
Turan Takaoğlu

18 Agriculture on the Shores of the Black Sea 383
Smaranda Andrews

19 Agriculture in Iron Age and Archaic Italy 399
Laura Motta and Katherine Beydler

20 Agriculture in Republican Italy 417
Saskia Roselaar

21 Agriculture in Imperial Italy 431
Annalisa Marzano

22 Agriculture in Roman Gaul 447
Alain Ferdière

23 Agriculture in Roman Iberia 479
Benedict Lowe

24 Agriculture in Roman North Africa 499
Dennis Kehoe

25 Agriculture in Roman Egypt 517
Brendan Haug

26 Agriculture in Iron Age Mesopotamia 539
Michael Kozuh

27 Iran and Central Asia in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic Periods 565
Rachel Mairs

Part V Comparative Agricultural History 575

28 Ancient Agriculture in the Indian Subcontinent: The Archaeobotanical Evidence 577
Ravi Korisettar

29 Trajectories of Agricultural Development in Prehistoric China: From the Beginning of Crop Cultivation to the Period of Agricultural Intensification (c. 10 000–3000 BP) 611
Yijie Zhuang

30 Late Antique Farming 633
Michael J. Decker

Part VI Conclusion 649

31 Common Ground: Understanding Ancient Agriculture from the Perspective of the Modern 651
Pamela Riney‐Kehrberg

Index 657

Subject Areas: History [HB]
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