Dynamics of fineware production and trade: the puzzle of supra-regional exporters

Lewit, Tamara

doi:10.1017/s1047759400003391

Cited by 23 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The reasons for the inland manufacture of ARS, a product also designed for export, is, however, more difficult to explain. The predominant theory is that the pottery kilns were located near the olive presses, so that the potters could take advantage of the enormous quantities of pomace produced during the pressing season (Lewit, 2011). Although none of the inland kiln sites have been thoroughly excavated, archaeobotanical evidence from several coastal sites, including Leptiminus, Carthage and Oudhna, indicates that olive pomace was frequently used as kiln fuel in North Africa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This highly organized and economically integrated system had several, probably unrealized, environmental benefits. Despite these high production levels and large fuel demands, there is no evidence to suggest that there was widespread deforestation in the area around Utica, or anywhere in North Africa, during the Roman period (Kaplan et al, 2009;Lewit, 2011). Significant deforestation seems to have already occurred in Tunisia, particularly around Carthage, and other areas of North Africa by 300 BC, long before the increase in olive oil and pottery production (Hoffman, 1982;Kaplan et al, 2009, p. 3029).…”

Section: Pomace Use In Roman North Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin

Rowan¹

2018

IANSA

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As a readily available and renewable resource, olive pomace has been used as a fuel throughout the Mediterranean for centuries. This article will first discuss the extensive use of pomace fuel in Roman North Africa, introducing and adding the once coastal city of Utica to our growing list of sites with archaeobotanical evidence for pomace residue. The paper will then focus on the ways in which the Romans linked olive oil and pottery production. While environmental sustainability was unlikely to have been one of the Romans' conscious objectives, the use of this fuel was vital to the continued production of North African ceramics, particularly in more arid areas. Today, in the face of increasing energy demands, pomace is once again being recognized as an important and sustainable resource. More work, however, still needs to be done to improve the efficiency of pomace use. The article will conclude by highlighting the valuable lessons that can be learned from ancient practices, especially the efficient pairing of olive cultivation and pottery production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pomace Use In Roman North Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin

Rowan¹

2018

IANSA

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“…The processes that shaped these tableware distribution patterns and how they could reveal aspects of ancient inter-regional trade and the access to commercial information have been the subject of debates in archaeology and history (for a summary [10]). They could have been shaped by the production region being close to a large active urban hub with a productive hinterland, with plentiful availability of fuel, giving some wares a locational advantage over others [10,18]. However, the ability to effectively deliver tableware to other large population centres or redistribution hubs might equally have been a factor [19].…”

Section: Tableware Trade In the Roman Eastmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tableware trade in the Roman East: Exploring cultural and economic transmission with agent-based modelling and approximate Bayesian computation

2020

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The availability of reliable commercial information is considered a key feature of inter-regional trade if the Roman economy was highly integrated. However, the extent to which archaeological and historical sources of inter-regional trade reflect the degree of economic integration is still not fully understood, a question which lies at the heart of current debates in Roman Studies. Ceramic tableware offers one of the only comparable and quantifiable sources of information for Roman inter-regional trade over centuries-long time periods. The distribution patterns and stylistic features of tablewares from the East Mediterranean dated between 200 BC and AD 300 suggest a competitive market where buying decisions might have been influenced by access to reliable commercial information. We contribute to this debate by representing three competing hypotheses in an agent-based model: success-biased social learning of tableware buying strategies (requiring access to reliable commercial information from all traders), unbiased social learning (requiring limited access), and independent learning (requiring no access). We use approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to evaluate which hypothesis best describes archaeologically observed tableware distribution patterns. Our results revealed success-bias is not a viable theory and we demonstrate instead that local innovation (independent learning) is a plausible driving factor in inter-regional tableware trade. We also suggest that tableware distribution should instead be explored as a small component of long-distance trade cargoes dominated by foodstuffs, metals, and building materials.

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“…247  For the Roman grain supply, see Erdkamp 2005, 206-257;Kessler and Temin 2007. For the broader implications of this trade, see Lewit 2011;Reynolds 2018;Tchernia 2016, 97-114.  Verboven 2007.…”

Section: Iv Family Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

7. The Roman Empire

Weaverdyck

2019

Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies

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The Roman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting of all the empires in the ancient world. 1 At its height, it controlled the entire coast of the Mediterranean and vast continental hinterlands, including most of western Europe and Great Britain, the Balkans, all of Asia Minor, the Near East as far as the Euphrates (and beyond, briefly), and northern Africa as far south as the Sahara. The Mediterranean, known to the Romans as mare nostrum ('our sea'), formed the core. The Mediterranean basin is characterized by extreme variability across both space and time. Geologically, the area is a large subduction zone between the African and European tectonic plates. This not only produces volcanic and seismic activity, it also means that the most commonly encountered bedrock is uplifted limestone, which is easily eroded by water. Much of the coastline is mountainous with deep river valleys. This rugged topography means that even broadly similar climatic conditions can produce drastically dissimilar microclimates within very short distances. In addition, strong interannual variability in precipitation means that local food shortages were an endemic feature of Mediterranean agriculture. In combination, this temporal and spatial variability meant that risk-buffering mechanisms including diversification, storage, and distribution of goods played an important role in ancient Mediterranean survival strategies. Connectivity has always characterized the Mediterranean. 2 While geography encouraged mobility, the empire accelerated that tendency, inducing the transfer of people, goods, and ideas on a scale never seen before. 3 This mobility, combined with increased demand and the efforts of the imperial government to mobilize specific products, led to the rise of broad regional specializations, particularly in staple foods and precious metals. 4 The results of this increased con- It has also been the subject of more scholarship than any other empire treated in this volume. The modern study of the Roman Empire is generally thought to have begun in the eighteenth century with works by the French political philosopher Montesquieu (1734) and the English historian Edward Gibbon (1776-1789). For an overview of the study of the Roman Empire in the twentieth century, see Potter 2006.  Horden and Purcell 2000, particularly 175-230. The environmental history of the ancient Mediterranean is entering new territory as more and better data and models become available. See Harris 2013; McCormick et al. 2012 for introductions.

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Dynamics of fineware production and trade: the puzzle of supra-regional exporters

Cited by 23 publications

References 3 publications

Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin

Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin

Tableware trade in the Roman East: Exploring cultural and economic transmission with agent-based modelling and approximate Bayesian computation

7. The Roman Empire

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