Productivity in prehistoric agriculture: physiological models for the quantification of cereal yields as an alternative to traditional approaches

Abstract

Agriculture has been the basis of social development. For this reason, a proper estimation of yield in prehistoric agriculture is of importance in many disciplines. After highlighting the limitations of the traditional approaches used for estimating yields in the prehistoric agriculture of the Old World, based mainly on archaeological, anthropological and ethnographic assumptions and evidences, this study discusses models with a physiological and agronomic bias. These models rely on a thorough knowledge of the biological factors that determine the crop yield, and involve the analysis of archaeological plant remains produced by prehistoric agricultural systems. The evaluation of ancient cereal yields based on the analysis of carbon isotope discrimination from fossil grains is proposed as a promising approach.