Pigs, presses and pastoralism: farming in the fifth to sixth centuries AD

Abstract

Farming in the fifth to sixth centuries Tamara LewitPigs, presses and pastoralism: farming in the fifth to sixth centuries AD T amara L ewitThe fifth to sixth centuries were a time of significant change in rural settlement, land use, production levels and productive technology in many regions. Archaeological and related discoveries suggest that in western Europe, specialized market-and state-oriented production gave way to mixed animal husbandry and diversified farming more suited to local terrains. This was accompanied by a widespread transformation of rural settlement. In contrast, the eastern Mediterranean experienced rural settlement expansion, intensification of land use, increased market-oriented agricultural production, and a significant change in oil and wine press technology. These changes seem to reflect the socio-political context in both east and west during this pivotal period.

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

“…4-5); they are used with this intention in Demarest et al (2004a) to discuss Maya archaeology. The world of late antiquity, too, is identified as ''world in transition,'' not in ''decline from some previously lofty standard'' (Bowersock 1988, p. 170; see also Ando 2008;Bowersock 1996;Bowes and Gutteridge 2005;Lewit 2003Lewit , 2009). However, these can be equally controversial and value laden.…”

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