Plain of Plenty: Farming Practices, Food Production, and the Agricultural Potential of the Late Bronze Age (1600–1200 BCE) Argive Plain, Greece

The Argive Plain was central to Late Bronze Age Mycenaean culture. Renowned for its settlements and treasures, less is known about its agricultural sustainability. This study examines Mycenaean farming in the Argive Plain and its societal implications, investigating if resource depletion contributed to the Bronze Age collapse.

The Argive Plain in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, was central to the Mycenaean culture during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1200 BCE). While known for its settlements and treasures, little is understood about its agricultural sustainability. This study examines Mycenaean farming in the Argive Plain and its societal implications, investigating if resource depletion contributed to the Bronze Age collapse. Using agricultural potential modelling, it reconstructs farming practices within the region’s political hierarchy, assessing sustainability through food consumption, energy needs, and land usage. Results indicate sustainable agriculture despite challenges like drought. However, ruling elites’ additional production needs may have strained resources. The thesis also addresses estimations of Neolithic and Bronze Age Aegean subsistence space, highlighting the overlooked impact of livestock on agricultural potential. By incorporating dairy and meat production, future models can better represent food production and environmental sustainability. This research enhances understanding of Mycenaean agricultural practices before the Bronze Age collapse, illustrating how elite formation likely influenced local communities and broader society.

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Mycenaean society and economy Chapter 3: The Late Bronze Age Argive Plain Chapter 4: Reconstructing agricultural systems and agricultural potential Chapter 5: Late Bronze Age agriculture in archaeological data Chapter 6: Farming strategies and the agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain Chapter 7: Reconstructing Mycenaean agriculture and subsistence Conclusion References Appendix 1: Bronze Age chronological systems Appendix 2: Summary table of the ethnographic studies used in the publication Appendix 3: Modern soil fertility classes Appendix 4: Bronze Age macrobotanical finds from the Argive Plain sites Appendix 5: Tree and maquis species present in the pollen cores of the Bronze Argive Plain (Lake Lerna and Kleonai) and the Southern Argolid (Limni Thermisia and Kiladha) Appendix 6: Domestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III deposits of the Argive Plain sites of Mycenae, Lerna, Midea, Tiryns, Asine, and Tsoungiza Domestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III deposits Appendix 7: Comparative data of ovicaprid sizes and milk yields Appendix 8: Stocking rates for (modern indigenous) cattle, sheep, and goats Appendix 9: The number, age, and sex of the Bronze Age human individuals whose skeletal material are used in this publication Appendix 10: The nutritional values of foodstuffs used in the dietary analysis of this publication Appendix 11: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to Diet model 1 Appendix 12: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to diet model 2 Appendix 13: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 1 Appendix 14: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 2 Appendix 15: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 1 Appendix 16: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 2 Appendix 17: The agricultural potential of the three Argive Plain neighbours
the Berbati and Nemea Valleys and Asine plateau,

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Mycenaean society and economy

Chapter 3: The Late Bronze Age Argive Plain

Chapter 4: Reconstructing agricultural systems and agricultural potential

Chapter 5: Late Bronze Age agriculture in archaeological data

Chapter 6: Farming strategies and the agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain

Chapter 7: Reconstructing Mycenaean agriculture and subsistence

Conclusion

References

Appendix 1: Bronze Age chronological systems

Appendix 2: Summary table of the ethnographic studies used in the publication

Appendix 3: Modern soil fertility classes

Appendix 4: Bronze Age macrobotanical finds from the Argive Plain sites

Appendix 5: Tree and maquis species present in the pollen cores of the Bronze Argive Plain (Lake Lerna and Kleonai) and the Southern Argolid (Limni Thermisia and Kiladha)

Appendix 6: Domestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III deposits of the Argive Plain sites of Mycenae, Lerna, Midea, Tiryns, Asine, and Tsoungiza

Domestic and wild mammals, fish, and bird species present in the LH III deposits

Appendix 7: Comparative data of ovicaprid sizes and milk yields

Appendix 8: Stocking rates for (modern indigenous) cattle, sheep, and goats

Appendix 9: The number, age, and sex of the Bronze Age human individuals whose skeletal material are used in this publication

Appendix 10: The nutritional values of foodstuffs used in the dietary analysis of this publication

Appendix 11: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to Diet model 1

Appendix 12: Food consumption, and the production need of different food items according to diet model 2

Appendix 13: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 1

Appendix 14: The individual subsistence production areas for different foodstuffs according to model 2

Appendix 15: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 1

Appendix 16: The agricultural potential of the LH III Argive Plain in Model 2

Appendix 17: The agricultural potential of the three Argive Plain neighbours; the Berbati and Nemea Valleys and Asine plateau

• By (author) Riia Elina Timonen