Agricultural economies in the face of environmental and political change

Abstract

This thesis investigated the effects of state power in the Iron Age on networks of crop production, trade and consumption at the port town Kinet Hoyuk in southern Turkey. This was achieved through analysis of botanical remains from Kinet, covering the 11th to 6th centuries BC. Archaeobotanical samples from 115 contexts were analysed, identifying shifts in crop-processing practices, food security, and risk management correlated with changes in cultural phases and state influence. The Early Iron Age of Kinet Hoyuk also allows for understanding of how the site recovered from the Bronze Age collapse, a political and environmental crisis that affected the region in the 12th century BC. Results indicate that proportions of water-sensitive bread wheat in the EIA were high, demonstrating that irrigation technology and a focus on economically-valuable and culturally preferred cereals were accessible during the EIA. After the EIA, priorities appeared to change, and food security and economic status of Kinet may have been low until the site returned to an urban structure in the 9th century BC. A focus on economically valuable fruits, particularly olive, may be apparent in the Neo-Assyrian period (8th century BC); indicating possible state prioritisation of ‘cash crops’ and a narrowing of access to others. Additionally, in the Late Iron Age, crop diversity and increasing representation of regionally uncommon crops (glume wheats) was linked large-scale imperialism by the Medians and Neo-Babylonians affecting connectivity and scope of trade routes in the region. Overall, this thesis demonstrated that changes in crop distribution at Kinet Hoyuk’s harbour was related to socio-political change; potentially due to a wide range of economic, environmental, and cultural reasons.