IMC 2016: Sessions
Session 1314: Farm to Table in Early Medieval Italy: Economy, Ecology, and Society of Food Production
Wednesday 6 July 2016, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | Slow Food [TM] UK |
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| Organiser: | Caroline Goodson, Department of History, Classics & Archaeology, Birkbeck, University of London |
| Moderator/Chair: | Marios Costambeys, Department of History, University of Liverpool |
| Paper 1314-a | Feeding the Early Medieval Venetians: Orchards, Fish Farms, and Cattle among the Water (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Daily Life, Economics - Rural, Economics - Urban |
| Paper 1314-b | The City and the Country: Olives in the Early Medieval Lucchesia (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Archives and Sources, Daily Life, Economics - Urban |
| Abstract | The agriculture of early medieval Italy was on the one hand deeply indebted to the traditions of the Roman empire, and on the other hand radically changed from the past. While many early medieval crops grown were the same as ancient Romans had enjoyed, agricultural production and estate management were entirely different, reflecting changed demography, economy, and values. Our session explores the dynamics of agriculture and food production for urban contexts, (Venice and Lucca) and rural monasteries, using a range of archaeological and historical evidence. We aim to demonstrate the centrality of regional food production in early medieval societies, as a strategy for social mobility and cultivation of communal identity. |