Contribution to Book
Growth and Change in the Prehistoric Landscape: The Mycenaean Terraces of Kalamianos
Early Land Allotment in Europe: the spread, function and social implications of field systems across Europe in prehistoric times
(2021)
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the adoption of agricultural terracing as a technological enhancement that resulted in changes to cultivation practices and distribution and organization of farm labour. The macroscopic investigation and systematic documentation of terraces in and around the settlements of Kalamianos and Stiri in the south-eastern Corinthia in southern Greece revealed that several large systems of terraces were likely contemporary to these Late Bronze Age settlements in the productive hinterlands of nearby Argolid palace-centres like Mycenae. It is suggested here that the construction of several systems of agricultural terraces, likely achieved with some palatial support, prompted the implementation of diverse cultivation techniques that would have altered labour needs throughout the agricultural calendar. Garden terraces within the settlement of Kalamianos emphasize the variety of growing environments enabled by terraced farming and raise questions regarding the identity of farm workers and the creation of gendered agricultural spaces.
Keywords
- Aegean Prehistory,
- Landscape Archaeology,
- Mycenaeans,
- Ancient Agrciulture,
- Ancient Farming
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall 2021
Editor
S. Arnoldussen, B. Johnston, and M. Løvschal
Publisher
Springer
Citation Information
Lynne A Kvapil. "Growth and Change in the Prehistoric Landscape: The Mycenaean Terraces of Kalamianos" Cham, SwitzerlandEarly Land Allotment in Europe: the spread, function and social implications of field systems across Europe in prehistoric times (2021) p. 101 - 114 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lynne_kvapil/15/
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