Storage: Introduction to the special issue

Balbo, Andrea L.

doi:10.1179/1749631415y.0000000021

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Beyond the context of Gujarat, storage has emerged as a key buffering strategy to face fluctuating crop production from the very early stages of agriculture development in other regions of the world, because it allows the delayed consumption of foodstuff in sedentary agricultural societies (Balbo 2015). This adaptive strategy was intertwined with domestication in drylands in Southwest Asia (Near East) in the early Holocene, where storage of wild cereal grains is attested in Dhra' as early as 11 ka BP (Kuijt andFinlayson 2009, Kuijt 2015).…”

Section: Commoning: the Case Of Andalusi Agriculturalistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

Balbo¹,

Gómez-Baggethun²,

Salpeteur³

et al. 2016

E&S

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ABSTRACT. To gain insights on long-term social-ecological resilience, we examined adaptive responses of small-scale societies to dryland-related hazards in different regions and chronological periods, spanning from the mid-Holocene to the present. Based on evidence from Africa (Sahara and Sahel), Asia (south margin of the Thar desert), and Europe (South Spain), we discuss key traits and coping practices of small-scale societies that are potentially relevant for building resilience. The selected case studies illustrate four main coping mechanisms: mobility and migration, storage, commoning, and collective action driven by religious beliefs. Ultimately, the study of resilience in the context of drylands emphasizes the importance of adaptive traits and practices that are distinctive of small-scale societies: a strong social-ecological coupling, a solid body of traditional ecological knowledge, and a high degree of internal cohesion and self-organization.

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Section: Commoning: the Case Of Andalusi Agriculturalistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

Balbo¹,

Gómez-Baggethun²,

Salpeteur³

et al. 2016

E&S

Self Cite

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“…Nevertheless, additional information, namely archeological approaches, are required to classify this species as an archaeophyte across the Mediterranean basin ( Lloret et al., 2011 ; Hardion et al., 2014b ). In this context, archeological evidence pointed out the possibility of replacement of wild reeds (e.g., Typha spp., Phragmites australis ) by A. donax , with very similar histological and physical-chemical characteristics, for anthropic purposes, like agriculture, construction, or others ( Boulos and Fahmy, 2007 ; Balbo, 2015 ; Romano et al., 2021 ). The characterization of leaf epicuticle reported in the present work demonstrated undeniably the easy growth and adaptation of this species to arid and semi-arid habitats.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf surfaces and neolithization - the case of Arundo donax L

et al. 2022

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Arundo donax L. (Arundinoideae subfamily, Poaceae family) is a sub-tropical and temperate climate reed that grows in arid and semi-arid environmental conditions, from eastern China to the Mediterranean basin, suggesting potential adaptations at the epicuticular level. A thorough physical-chemical examination of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of A. donax leaf was performed herein in an attempt to track such chemophenetic adaptations. This sort of approach is of the utmost importance for the current debate about the hypothetical invasiveness of this species in the Mediterranean basin versus its natural colonization along the Plio-Pleistocene period. We concluded that the leaf surfaces contain, apart from stomata, prickles, and long, thin trichomes, and silicon-rich tetralobate phytolits. Chemically, the dominating elements in the leaf ashes are oxygen and potassium; minor amounts of calcium, silicon, magnesium, phosphorous, sulphur, and chlorine were also detected. In both surfaces the epicuticular waxes (whose density is higher in the adaxial surface than in the abaxial surface) form randomly orientated platelets, with irregular shape and variable size, and aggregated rodlets with variable diameter around the stomata. In the case of green mature leaves, the dominating organic compounds of the epicuticular waxes of both surfaces are triterpenoids. Both surfaces feature identical hydrophobic behaviour, and exhibit the same total transmittance, total reflectance, and absorption of incident light. The above findings suggest easy growth of the plant, remarkable epidermic robustness of the leaf, and control of water loss. These chemophenetic characteristics and human influence support a neolithization process of this species along the Mediterranean basin.

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“…A rich body of archaeological and anthropological literature on storage already exists, with case studies varying in theoretical and methodological approaches, periods and places (i.e., Balbo, 2015;Bettinger, 1999;Cunningham, 2011;Ingold, 1982Ingold, , 1983Keeley, 1988;Kelly, 1995Kelly, , 2013Morgan, 2008Morgan, , 2012Soffer, 1989;Testart, 1982;Woodburn, 1982). Storage is a key activity for securing resources for the periods of food shortage and a risk reduction strategy for coping with the uncertainties that characterize subsistence, e.g.…”

Section: The Multidimensionality Of Food Storage In Hunter-gatherer Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Meat outside the freezer: Drying, smoking, salting and sealing meat in fat at an Epipalaeolithic megasite in eastern Jordan

Spyrou¹,

Maher²,

Martin³

et al. 2019

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Even though pivotal for understanding many aspects of human behaviour, preservation and storage of animal resources has not received great attention from archaeologists. One could argue that the main problem lies in the difficulties of demonstrating meat storage archaeologically due to the lack of direct evidence. This paper represents an attempt to refine zooarchaeological methods for the recognition of meat preservation and storage at prehistoric sites. Drawing on the faunal assemblage from Kharaneh IV, an Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site in eastern Jordan, this study demonstrates that a combination of taphonomic and contextual analyses alongside ethnographic information may indeed lead archaeologists to insights not directly available from the archaeological record. The empirical evidence presented here contributes to the archaeological visibility of meat preservation and storage, providing a clearer concept of the nature of these practices in preagricultural societies.

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Storage: Introduction to the special issue

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

Leaf surfaces and neolithization - the case of Arundo donax L

Meat outside the freezer: Drying, smoking, salting and sealing meat in fat at an Epipalaeolithic megasite in eastern Jordan

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