Taskscapes, Landscapes, and the Politics of Agricultural Production in Roman Mosaics

Mallon, Kilian

doi:10.16995/traj.4340

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Mosaic calendars such as these would primarily have been viewed by their elite free owners, their free family and friends, and their enslaved domestic workers. The enslaved or free laborers commonly depicted in the panels, like the grape pressers, were unlikely to have spent anytime indoors within sight of these representations (Mallon, 2021 ). The implied bounty in the yield of the grapes and the strength and vigor of the laborers directly reflect on the power and estate management skills of the owner.…”

Section: Wet Feet and Hotter Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholars have generally interpreted such depictions of labor as evidence of agricultural practice, as related to the social and political power of the homeowners, as symbols of desired fertility and productivity, and as taskscapes (Dunbabin, 1978; Ingold, 1993; Mallon, 2021; White, 1967). Mosaic calendars such as these would primarily have been viewed by their elite free owners, their free family and friends, and their enslaved domestic workers.…”

Section: Wet Feet and Hotter Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Warm Soil, Westerly Wind, and Wet Feet: Feeling and Measuring Ecological Time in the Roman World

Tally‐Schumacher

2023

GeoHealth

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Although climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation are contemporary problems, these are also challenges with deep historic roots in antiquity. 2,000 years ago, during the Roman Climate Optimum, a period of unusually warm, wet, and stable temperatures in the Mediterranean from roughly 200 BCE to 150 CE, the Romans altered the natural environment so greatly that they produced a level of pollution that was unparalleled until the Industrial Revolution. It is precisely in this contradictory time of unusually productive growth and destruction that we discover a blossoming of textual and visual ecological calendars illustrating how the Romans experienced the changing Mediterranean seasons. Roman agricultural treatises instruct us on specific agricultural tasks based on celestial movement, the arrival of particular winds, and on corporeal sensations, such as the warmth of the soil. Literary texts from the period portray kinship and shared corporeality between farmers and plants, with parent farmers listening to and assisting plant‐children in achieving their desires. The concept of measuring time by means of the human body and its sensations is most explicit in the agricultural mosaics of the Late Roman period, which depict enslaved workers laboring, sweating, stomping, plowing, and performing seasonal tasks. While much of the conceptualization of indigenous ecological calendars is framed within the context of modern states, juxtaposing ancient predecessors and contemporary practices offers a new perspective on this topic.

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Section: Wet Feet and Hotter Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Wet Feet and Hotter Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warm Soil, Westerly Wind, and Wet Feet: Feeling and Measuring Ecological Time in the Roman World

Tally‐Schumacher

2023

GeoHealth

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Sensory Experiences in the Roman North: Emerging Themes and Future Directions

Derrick,

Savani

2024

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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The senses were functionally significant to all aspects of Roman life and played a central role in private and public events, from religious ceremonies to gladiatorial fights. However, to date, these studies primarily focus on archaeological sites from Italy. The scope of this Special Issue, however, was on the sensory implications of archaeological material from a region so far neglected by sensory studies: the ‘Roman North’ (including modern France, western Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain and immediately adjacent areas), from the earliest interactions with Roman civilization to Late Antiquity. The contributing authors to this Special Issue come from several different sectors but they all have something in common: they use Roman material from the north to tell stories about Roman lived experience.This editorial is a piece underscoring the present ‘state of the discipline’. At this stage, however, it would be very generous to designate the research theme as a ‘discipline’. We hope that this editorial and the excellent papers in this Special Issue contribute to addressing this disparity and will encourage others to explore these themes in their own work.

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Taskscapes, Landscapes, and the Politics of Agricultural Production in Roman Mosaics

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

Warm Soil, Westerly Wind, and Wet Feet: Feeling and Measuring Ecological Time in the Roman World

Warm Soil, Westerly Wind, and Wet Feet: Feeling and Measuring Ecological Time in the Roman World

Sensory Experiences in the Roman North: Emerging Themes and Future Directions

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