Original design, tribal management and modifications in medieval hydraulic systems in the Balearic Islands (Spain)

The Islamic cemetery at 33 Bartomeu Vicent Ramon, Ibiza: investigating diet and mobility through light stable isotopes in bone collagen and tooth enamel

“…This is perhaps easiest to understand when comparing the rural site of Can Fonoll with the two Eivissa sites, with the latter having greater access to marine foods and to imported foodstuffs (Pickard et al 2017), though it was not until the twelfth century that the Balearic Islands became more thoroughly enmeshed in international Mediterranean trade (Doxey 1994). The explanation for this subtle, small-scale patterning may instead relate to the strong, clan-based territorial divisions on Ibiza set out during its resettlement in 902 (Kirchner 2002(Kirchner , 2006(Kirchner , 2009Kirchner and Retamero 2015: Fig. 4.7).…”

“…This no doubt facilitated the rapid colonisation of the entire island over only a few decades (Barceló 2005: 30), affecting both the countryside (Kirchner 2006: 128-132) and the town or madina. The settlers brought with them new foodstuffs, among which were 13 C-enriched C 4 plants such as sorghum and possibly sugarcane, as well as advanced irrigation systems that enabled the cultivation of crops on a scale far beyond that seen on the islands previously (Kirchner 2002(Kirchner , 2006(Kirchner , 2009Kirchner and Retamero 2015;Retamero 2008;Watson 1983). The town of Eivissa at the beginning of the tenth century would have been a simple castle (Ramon 2000: 141;Marlière and Torres Costa in press), which then expanded into a more substantial urban centre in the twelfth century (Ferrer Abárzuza, 2014: 76).…”

“…It may be that this expectation was itself flawed, given that C 4 crops were present on the Iberian Peninsula since at least the Middle Bronze Age and would already have been integrated into the farming economy to some extent (Alonso 2008;Buxó and Piqué 2008). If anything, the greatly improved irrigation systems introduced into al-Andalus by Arab and Berber settlers (Kirchner 2002(Kirchner , 2006(Kirchner , 2009Kirchner and Retamero 2015;Retamero 2008;Watson 1983) may have facilitated a greater emphasis on more highly culturally valued C 3 crops, especially wheat. The frequent focus in stable isotope studies on the contributions of C 4 (and marine) foods is driven in part by the analytical technique itself, since there is such a clear distinction between the 13 C values of C 3 and C 4 plants, ostensibly making this a very amenable research question.…”

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

“…The original Andalusi irrigated field systems extended over limited areas of 2 ha or less (Sitjes 2006). These were largely extended after the feudal conquest of al-Andalus, made in the context of the European Crusades (Torró 2007, Kirchner 2009, Guinot and Esquilache 2012. Through history, irrigated fields of Andalusi origin have shifted from subsistence-based to stateregulated and market-oriented production, and some of them are currently cultivated for the production of fruits and vegetables that are exported across Europe.…”

Stable carbon isotope analysis as a direct means of inferring crop water status and water management practices

“…Consequently, the management of surface water resources has been a focus of archaeologists studying the ancient agriculture of the region (Butzer 1996;Charles 1988;Davies 2009;Mithen 2010). Traditionally, information on ancient crop watering has been derived from indirect lines of evidence, such as irrigation infrastructure (Bruins 1990;Clement and Moseley 1991;Farrington 1980;Kirchner 2009) and the ecology of weed species found in unprocessed harvests or processing by-products Jones et al 1995). Such evidence is useful, but often does not enable water conditions to be inferred for specific crops, preventing investigation of, for example, the differential treatment of crop species or the importation of crops grown elsewhere.…”