Agricultural Dynamics in Southwestern Mediterranean France from the End of the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages

Abstract

ABSTRACT The north-western Mediterranean rural world underwent major socioeconomic and cultural changes between the Late Iron Age and the beginning of the Middle Ages, with a decisive impact on the evolution of agricultural production, practices and landscapes. Roman expansion led to the spread of villae (2nd–1st c. BC), leading to a new structuration of rural areas and the development of a speculative agriculture that favoured wine production. By the end of the Roman period, new changes are observed: while certain Roman villae are still occupied, the appearance of a new network of rural settlements reveals the emergence of a new form of rural economy. Although these changes are increasingly well documented by archaeology, their impact on the agrarian production and practices remains little explored. The multiplication of archaeobotanical investigations in southwestern Mediterranean France allows us to present a first review of farming practices and their evolution during this key period. The study of 30 rural sites provides new data concerning local agriculture between the 2nd c. BC and the 8th c. AD (cultivated plants, prevalence of certain species, farming practices, exploited landscapes) and attempts to detect potential evolutions over time such as changes in staple crops, diversification, exploitation of new ‘terroirs’.