Session: #37

Content:

In the Anthropocene, the interaction of humans with their environment is mostly defined by resource exploitation. Recently archaeologists have realised that many of these interactions are based on a desire for sustainability; in some cases there is clear evidence for human intention to make resource exploitation sustainable. In this Regular Session we want to look at archaeological evidence for sustainability in the Mediterranean past, and how sustainability can dovetail with resource exploitation.

Landscape archaeology gives us a very useful perspective to investigate both the dynamics of resource exploitation and ways of managing specific landscape features (arable land, pasturage, coastlines, wetlands, highlands). It seems likely that sustainability was often built into resource management, including production above subsistence. Sustainable strategies would enable people to manage predictable risks to their resource base, such as crop failure or temporary scarcity of grazing land.

In societies practising agriculture and animal husbandry, there are usually four main
resources – arable land; pasturage or grazing-land; water or the means of procuring it; and
connectivities of various kinds. In order to maximise resources, people may invest in
agricultural terraces; they may find ways of separating agriculture from grazing-land; they
will need to manage water; and they will also need to determine the patterns of connectivity
which will enable them to select resources efficiently. Other resources may be relevant too (potting clay, trees, quarry areas, ore sources). Archaeological evidence can help us to detect and date resource strategies, in order to see how different kinds of exploitation fit together in a specific landscape.

We look forward to abstract submissions using archaeological evidence to suggest patterns of sustainable resource exploitation in specific Mediterranean landscapes, and to having energetic discussions on approaches to ecological sustainability in various Mediterranean economies.

Session: #37

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