Papers by Ryan Hughes
Journal of Land Use Science, 2019
Understanding the sustainability of land use systems over time requires an accounting of the dive... more Understanding the sustainability of land use systems over time requires an accounting of the diversity of land uses and their varying influences on the environment. Here we present a standardized review of land use systems in the Peloponnese, Greece, from the Neolithic to the Roman period (~6500 BC-AD 300). Using a combination of sources, we synthesize the fundamental information required to characterize and quantify the spatial requirements of land use. We contextualize our results in a discussion of temporal trends, the probable drivers of change, and how these changes can be integrated with the general knowledge of these societies and the overall effect of land use across time. While our review concentrates on the Peloponnese, our methodology is widely applicable where suitable archaeological and historical records are available , and is broadly representative of the prehistoric and early historical evolution of agricultural land use systems in the eastern Mediterranean.
Quantitative reconstructions of past land use facilitate comparisons between livelihoods in space... more Quantitative reconstructions of past land use facilitate comparisons between livelihoods in space and time. However, comparison between different types of land use strategies is challenging as land use has a multitude of expressions and intensities. The quantitative method presented here facilitates the exploration and synthetization of uneven archaeological and textual evidence from past societies. The approach quantifies the area required for habitation, agriculture, arboriculture, pasturage, and fuel supply, based on a combination of archaeological, historical, ethnographic and modern evidence from the relevant geographical region. It is designed to stimulate discussion and can be used to test a wide range of hypotheses regarding local and regional economies, ancient trade and redistribution, and the resilience and/or vulnerability of past societies to environmental change. The method also helps identify where our gaps in knowledge are in understanding past human–environment interaction, the ecological footprint of past cultures and their influence on the landscape in a transparent and quantitative manner. The present article focuses especially on the impact of dietary estimates and crop yield estimates, two main elements in calculating land use in past societies due to their uncertainty as well as their significant impact on calculations. By employing archaeological data, including botanical, zoological and isotopic evidence, alongside available textual sources, this method seeks to improve land use and land cover change models by increasing their representativeness and accuracy.
The modern Swiss agricultural landscape has its roots buried deep in the ancient past. The phase ... more The modern Swiss agricultural landscape has its roots buried deep in the ancient past. The phase of agricultural development spanning from the Iron Age, beginning with the Hallstatt in 800 B.C. (2750 BP), to the last of the Merovingian dynasty in A.D. 754 (1196 BP), was one of the most vibrant and important periods in the evolution of the landscape and agriculture of Switzerland. This phase, which begins with independent Iron Age tribes, encompasses the first large-scale conquest of the land of Switzerland, the incorporation of the region into the Roman Empire and the transition of control to the Frankish Kings which laid the foundation in the Early Middle Ages for the modern agricultural landscape. This study explores these developments in the three topographical zones of Switzerland (the Jura Massif and northwestern Switzerland, the Plateau and the Alps) through the archaeological record by combining archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains recovered from excavations with the results of pollen studies and climatological research to acquire a holistic view of ancient agriculture and dietary preference. During the Hallstatt (800-480 B.C./2750-2430 BP), the three topographical zones had similar agricultural activities, however, beginning in the La Tène (480-13 B.C./2430-1963 BP) these show a significant divergence that further intensifies with the arrival of the Romans and persists after the transition of power to the Frankish Kings in the late 5th century A.D. (c. 1474 BP). The arrival of the Romans in the late 1st century B.C. had an immediate impact with the introduction of new crops into local cultivation alongside advanced horticulture, viticulture and animal husbandry practices, as well as a lasting presence in Swiss agriculture due to the persistence of many of these crops after the removal of Roman influence. Concurrently, the cultivation of Iron Age crops, primarily hardy hulled wheats and barley, continued throughout the Roman period, particularly at sites dominated by Celtic peoples, with Roman influence being most felt at higher status sites such as the capital at Avenches, the colony of Augst and the major military installation at Windisch. Roman influence on meat consumption is demonstrated by elevated levels of swine and chickens with a continuation of the dominance of cattle at predominately Celtic sites in the Jura and Plateau alongside elevated levels of sheep and goats at Alpine sites in the Rhône Valley. By combining archaeobotany, archaeozoology and palynology with climatological studies, this work shows that the arrival of the Romans had an immediate impact during the first centuries A.D., aided by favourable climatic conditions. After the removal of direct Roman influence and increasing climatic instability beginning in the mid-3rd century A.D., many of the crops, fruits and garden plants persisted with the arrival of Frankish and Germanic peoples into the region alongside a resurgence in the prevalence of cereal crops cultivated during the Iron Age.
The Roman province of Baetica in southern Spain produced vast amounts of olive oil during the fir... more The Roman province of Baetica in southern Spain produced vast amounts of olive oil during the first three centuries CE. The small town of Axati is situated in an area now known as Lora del Rio along the Baetis River, the modern Guadalquivir. This town exported large amounts of olive oil which was distributed throughout the Roman Empire from northern Britain to Alexandria. This study will look at the stamped olive oil amphorae, Dressel 20 type, which were produced there and transported throughout the Empire. The distribution and consumption levels evidenced by these stamped amphorae are quantified here in order to compare the amounts consumed by military and civilian populations. Through this comparison it is demonstrated that the primary consumers were the city of Rome and the civilian settlements within the frontier provinces.
Chronika, 2014
Salvage excavations at the caravanserai Khirbet Sufaysif in the southern Wadi Araba, Jordan, appr... more Salvage excavations at the caravanserai Khirbet Sufaysif in the southern Wadi Araba, Jordan, approximately seven km outside of Petra, revealed an interior room with both internal and external ovens, a U-shaped stone enclosure and a ‘bench-like’ installation as well as a deliberately sealed door to an adjacent interior room. This paper seeks to present the data recovered and provide a preliminary analysis of the finds, architecture and significance of this area which may have served as a kitchen area or as personal quarters. By exploring this room and its role in the caravanserai, it is possible to begin to understand the vital position which caravan stations held along the major trade road, the Incense Route, between Petra and the Mediterranean coast at Gaza during the Nabataean and Early Roman Periods.
Talks by Ryan Hughes
Similarly to fire and the domestication of plants and animals that preceded it, the development o... more Similarly to fire and the domestication of plants and animals that preceded it, the development of metallurgy in prehistoric Eurasia fundamentally altered the relationship between humans and their environment. Starting more than 5000 years ago with copper in southwest Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, and later through the invention of bronze, metallurgical technology ushered in the 3rd “land use revolution”. Metal tools facilitated the conversion of forests to agricultural and pasture land and allowed both the intensification and expansion of farming activities. The Bronze Age is associated with the development of the first complex societies across Eurasia, and the development of long distance trade networks. At the same time, metallurgy produced a completely novel demand for ore and wood for fuel in the smelting process, both of which had widespread impacts on landscapes, importantly through deforestation and soil erosion. Despite this general understanding of the importance of the Bronze Age for humanity, the potential impact that early metallurgy had on continental-scale landscapes is uncertain and highly debated. To address this problem, we use a combination of archaeological and paleoecological data synthesis and modeling to quantify the potential impacts of bronze metallurgy in Eurasia during the period 3000-1000 BC. We start by reviewing the evidence for copper and bronze agricultural and forestry implements in the archaeological record and compiling a geo-database of finds. Copper and bronze agricultural implements such as sickles, ploughshares and reaping hooks along with multi- purpose tools such as saws and axes are commonly found in the archaeological record, dispelling the popular assertion that bronze was primarily used for ornamental and competitive purposes. By 1200 BC, bronze agricultural and forestry tools are found from the United Kingdom to Russia and from Scandinavia to the Sahara. The information we collect in the archaeological geo-database will be applied to a new model of human-environment interactions that predicts land use and land cover change as a function of technology, environment, and social organization. These model results will in turn be evaluated against the land cover reconstructions based on pollen data, which intriguingly show the first large- scale deforestation in Europe occurring during the Bronze Age. Ultimately, our study will demonstrate the importance of metallurgy as the 3rd land use revolution, and the development of the landscapes we value today as economic, cultural and ecological resources.
Conference Presentations by Ryan Hughes
by Erika Weiberg, Anton Bonnier, Pavlos Avramidis, Katerina Kouli, Ingmar Unkel, Panagiotis Karkanas, Christos Katrantsiotis, Adam Izdebski, Ryan Hughes, Sjoerd Kluiving, Torben Keßler, and Flint Dibble The conference is a collaborative effort among members of the PELOPS (Past Environments and Lands... more The conference is a collaborative effort among members of the PELOPS (Past Environments and Landscapes of Peloponnesian Societies) group, which is an interdisciplinary group of scholars with an ongoing engagement in human-environment interaction in the Peloponnese from archaeology, history, environmental and climate reconstructions.
The primary aim of the conference is to make a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the form and content of interdisciplinary research on human-environment dynamics in past societies from prehistory to Late Antiquity. The conference will be an arena for innovative ideas, integrated methods and lessons learnt from current interdisciplinary projects in the Peloponnese and beyond. In answer to the open call for more collaborative research efforts, the conference will host 17 lectures by members of the PELOPS group and invited speakers, presenting well integrated accounts of human-environment interactions in past societies.
The conference will open on Thursday, 6 April, 2017, 7 pm at the Acropolis museum, with a lecture by Michael GIVEN (University of Glasgow), ‘Conviviality of the land: towards a new academic ecology’, followed by a welcome reception at the Swedish Institute at Athens.
The conference will thereafter take place at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 7-8 April, 9 am-18 pm.
The impact of humans on the landscapes of Europe in Classical Antiquity has been poorly quantifie... more The impact of humans on the landscapes of Europe in Classical Antiquity has been poorly quantified to date. Most global scenarios of Anthropogenic Land Cover Change (ALCC), e.g., HYDE and KK10, suggest that humans had relatively little influence on land cover during the Imperium Romanum, while documentary sources and archaeological data imply that much of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas were severely impacted by human activities by this period. In order to address this discrepancy between models and observations, we have synthesised the archaeological evidence of ancient agriculture and land use, primarily based on archaeobotany, archaeozoology, and palynology, from the late 1st century B.C.E. until the mid-3rd century C.E., the so called Pax Romana period, for the area covering modern Switzerland. Using these data, we reconstruct per capita land use in the principal regions of Switzerland: the Alps, Plateau and Jura (including NW Switzerland), and the diversity evident between different site-types, Roman colonies (colonia), urban centres (civitas & vici), military sites, Vindonissa (legionary fortress) rural estates (villae) and rural settlements. This per capita land use is calculated for an individual inhabiting the site, with the impact spread across the nearby landscape, and, at times, substantially further abroad. Where the archaeological record does not record necessary information, such as quantifying productivity and fertility, the literary record, ethnographic studies and modern scientific studies are used to develop a holistic view of ancient land use and human-environment interactions. Our data synthesis will subsequently be used to inform quantitative models of human-environment interactions, which allow us to test hypotheses and assumptions about land use in the ancient world. By grounding land use models in the archaeological record, we can evaluate the accuracy of the outputs, while at the same time provide a practical and flexible tool for estimating ALCC over larger landscapes that more accurately reflects the archaeological record.
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Papers by Ryan Hughes
Talks by Ryan Hughes
Conference Presentations by Ryan Hughes
The primary aim of the conference is to make a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the form and content of interdisciplinary research on human-environment dynamics in past societies from prehistory to Late Antiquity. The conference will be an arena for innovative ideas, integrated methods and lessons learnt from current interdisciplinary projects in the Peloponnese and beyond. In answer to the open call for more collaborative research efforts, the conference will host 17 lectures by members of the PELOPS group and invited speakers, presenting well integrated accounts of human-environment interactions in past societies.
The conference will open on Thursday, 6 April, 2017, 7 pm at the Acropolis museum, with a lecture by Michael GIVEN (University of Glasgow), ‘Conviviality of the land: towards a new academic ecology’, followed by a welcome reception at the Swedish Institute at Athens.
The conference will thereafter take place at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 7-8 April, 9 am-18 pm.
The primary aim of the conference is to make a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the form and content of interdisciplinary research on human-environment dynamics in past societies from prehistory to Late Antiquity. The conference will be an arena for innovative ideas, integrated methods and lessons learnt from current interdisciplinary projects in the Peloponnese and beyond. In answer to the open call for more collaborative research efforts, the conference will host 17 lectures by members of the PELOPS group and invited speakers, presenting well integrated accounts of human-environment interactions in past societies.
The conference will open on Thursday, 6 April, 2017, 7 pm at the Acropolis museum, with a lecture by Michael GIVEN (University of Glasgow), ‘Conviviality of the land: towards a new academic ecology’, followed by a welcome reception at the Swedish Institute at Athens.
The conference will thereafter take place at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 7-8 April, 9 am-18 pm.