Two Oxen Ahead: Pre-Mechanized Farming in the Mediterranean

By: Paul Halstead

This revealing study shows how careful analysis of recent farming practices, and related cultural traditions, in communities around the Mediterranean can enhance our understanding of prehistoric and Greco-Roman societies.

* Includes a wealth of original interview material and data from field observation

* Provides original approaches to understanding past farming practices and their social contexts

* Offers a revealing comparative perspective on Mediterranean societies’ agronomy Identifies a number of previously unrecorded climate-related contrasts in farming practices, which have important socio-economic significance

* Explores annual tasks, such as tillage and harvest; inter-annual land management techniques, such as rotation; and intergenerational issues, including capital accumulation

Wiley (2014) ISBN: 978-1-4051-9283-5