Agriculture and Social Control: From the trend towards monoculture to agricultural diversity in El Argar

  • Adrián Mora-González Universidad de Granada
  • Francisco Javier Jover Maestre Universidad de Alicante
  • Francisco Contreras Cortés Universidad de Granada
  • Juan Antonio López Padilla Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante
Keywords: Argar, Bronze Age, Agriculture, Peasant rationality, Productive processes

Abstract

This paper presents a new hypothesis on the way of life and the degree of social control of agricultural production in the Argaric society (2250-1550 BCE). Decades ago, a productive intensification process based on an extensive monoculture of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was proposed in the Vera Basin for the late phases of this society. However, the review of all available paleobotanical data, with the existent limitations and evaluated in a global chronological way, allows considering other interpretative possibilities. Data points towards a diverse agriculture practice during the whole argaric period, despite having an essentially cereal base, associated with the implementation of different strategies consistent with the principles of the rationality of the peasant economy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Francisco Javier Jover Maestre, Universidad de Alicante

Instituto Universitario de investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico. INAPH. 

 

View citations

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2022-12-14
How to Cite
Mora-González A., Jover Maestre F. J., Contreras Cortés F. y López Padilla J. A. (2022). Agriculture and Social Control: From the trend towards monoculture to agricultural diversity in El Argar. Complutum, 33(2), 389-409. https://doi.org/10.5209/cmpl.84155
Section
Articles