Agriculture in the Islamic World: History, Archaeology, and Ethnology

Agriculture produces food. It produces food for humans, and it produces food for other animals, some of which will become food themselves. It includes fields, orchards, and flocks. It involves water management, crop planning, the processing and storage of yield, and soil improvement. It could be done on a small scale or a large one. Interestingly, a scholar named Andrew Watson argued in the 1980s for an “Islamic Agricultural Revolution” during the 7^th to 10^th century AD based on what he believed to be the arrival of new crops to the region in parallel to the intensive use of irrigation techniques. In this seminar we will test this argument. We will look at specific water installations (such as the qanāt) and plot solutions (such as terraces) and learn about their history. We will study fertilizing techniques (e.g. using manure or pottery sherds) and the use of marshes. We will discuss dietary restrictions, such as the prohibition of pork consumption, and food production, including wine, oil, and flour. Finally, we will examine social aspects related to agriculture, such as risk management strategies, maintaining a nuclear or an extended family, and slavery. The seminar will deal with different periods between late antiquity and the pre-modern time, with different regions within the Islamic world, and with various types of sources: texts, art, ethnographic records, archaeological finds, and botanical remains.