Annette M Hansen
My current research interests are agricultural economies, archaeobotany (the study of human-plant relationships in the past), crop selection, ethnographic studies of traditional food practices, and food security of both the present day and in the past. My main region of specialisation is the Levant and North Africa, with a particular focus on Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Sudan. I am the senior archaeobotanist on the Tall Hisban, Bayda, Shuqayra al-Gharbiyya, Ghor as-Safi complex (Khirbet as-Sheikh Isa, Tawahin as-Sukkar, Umm Tawabin), Khirbet Safra and al-Jumaiyil excavations in Jordan and Khirbet Beit Mazmil excavations in Israel. I am also an archaeobotanist on the EoS-funded AGROS project.
My dissertation project aims to reconstruct the development of the agricultural economy in Islamic Jordan between the 6th and early 17th centuries, through the lens of intertwined choices for technologies, crops and other innovations against the background of political, cultural and demographic developments. Six archaeological case studies will be evaluated from southern Bilad as-Sham: Tall Hisban, Baydha, Ghor as-Safi (Umm Tawabin, Khirbet as-Sheikh 'Isa and Tawahin as-Sukkar), Shuqayra al-Gharbiyya, and Khirbet Beit Mazmil.
First a model will be constructed in which the factors that determine a crop and practice-choices are related. This will be done using available data on local climate and geography as well as data on crop requirements and performance parameters, but also with incorporation of known ancient and medieval farming practices and technologies. Then, the model will be tested using two main types of data: 1.) Arabic textual sources, such as farming manuals and administrative documents, some of which will be for the first time be translated by the candidate, and 2.) archaeobotanical data (both published and to be collected) from archaeological sites in Jordan and can then be used to interpret the observed changes in crop and practice-choices. Macro-plant remains (including seeds/fruits, rhizomes, wood, rachis, chaff, leaves) and secondary products including impressions of macro-plant remains will be the main focus of the archaeobotanical study.
The interdisciplinary combination of textual and archaeobotanical evidence make the proposed research the first genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Jordanian Islamic agriculture, with not only the potential to resolve a current debate on the nature of economic development in the Islamic Empires at large, but will also shed a new light on the agricultural component of the Roman-Byzantine/Islamic transition and allow for cross-period comparisons. To this effort it would contribute a large, homogenous and well-evidenced case study stretching over one thousand years.
Supervisors: Professor Dr. Peter Attema, University of Groningen, Professor Dr. Bethany Walker, University of Bonn, Dr. Wim Jongman, Dr. Lucy Kubiak-Martens, BIAX Consult, Collaborator: Professor Emeritis Dr. Pieter Baas, Leiden University, and Wood Identification
My dissertation project aims to reconstruct the development of the agricultural economy in Islamic Jordan between the 6th and early 17th centuries, through the lens of intertwined choices for technologies, crops and other innovations against the background of political, cultural and demographic developments. Six archaeological case studies will be evaluated from southern Bilad as-Sham: Tall Hisban, Baydha, Ghor as-Safi (Umm Tawabin, Khirbet as-Sheikh 'Isa and Tawahin as-Sukkar), Shuqayra al-Gharbiyya, and Khirbet Beit Mazmil.
First a model will be constructed in which the factors that determine a crop and practice-choices are related. This will be done using available data on local climate and geography as well as data on crop requirements and performance parameters, but also with incorporation of known ancient and medieval farming practices and technologies. Then, the model will be tested using two main types of data: 1.) Arabic textual sources, such as farming manuals and administrative documents, some of which will be for the first time be translated by the candidate, and 2.) archaeobotanical data (both published and to be collected) from archaeological sites in Jordan and can then be used to interpret the observed changes in crop and practice-choices. Macro-plant remains (including seeds/fruits, rhizomes, wood, rachis, chaff, leaves) and secondary products including impressions of macro-plant remains will be the main focus of the archaeobotanical study.
The interdisciplinary combination of textual and archaeobotanical evidence make the proposed research the first genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Jordanian Islamic agriculture, with not only the potential to resolve a current debate on the nature of economic development in the Islamic Empires at large, but will also shed a new light on the agricultural component of the Roman-Byzantine/Islamic transition and allow for cross-period comparisons. To this effort it would contribute a large, homogenous and well-evidenced case study stretching over one thousand years.
Supervisors: Professor Dr. Peter Attema, University of Groningen, Professor Dr. Bethany Walker, University of Bonn, Dr. Wim Jongman, Dr. Lucy Kubiak-Martens, BIAX Consult, Collaborator: Professor Emeritis Dr. Pieter Baas, Leiden University, and Wood Identification
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (36)
Uploads
Book Chapters by Annette M Hansen
Abstract:
This chapter provides an overview of the vegetal
resources of Bronze Age Nubia. After providing
a brief introduction to, and historiography of,
archaeobotanical research in Nubia, we first describe
the ecological context in which plants in Nubia grow,
and show how the complex interplay water availability,
seasonality, geology, and technology co-determine the
vegetation and the potential and nature of agriculture.
We then reflect on the management of the vegetal
resources and distinguish between taxa that naturally
occur in the environment and those that are cultivated
as crops on the fields, which were mostly introduced
to Nubia from other regions. We then continue to
discuss different practical categories of plants and
their uses (e.g., cereals, pulses, fruit trees) and reflect
on their attestation and potential use in Nubia. While
there are currently few archaeobotanical studies for
the study area and period, the results thus far attest
a diverse crop curriculum, a wide range of managed
wild plant resources, and the use of crop processing
waste as by-products that were upcycled into products
for other non-food sectors. These practices both reflect
resilience strategies and a sophisticated circular
economic system in Bronze Age Nubia.
Full citation:
F.B.J. Heinrich & A.M. Hansen (2021) 'A hard row to hoe. Ancient climate change from the crop perspective' in: P. Erdkamp, J.G. Manning & K. Verboven (eds.) Climate Change and Ancient Societies in Europe and the Near East. Diversity in Collapse and Resilience. Palgrave Studies in Ancient Economies. pp. 25-80.
Papers by Annette M Hansen
https://rdcu.be/cffNH
Over the past decades, the disciplinary boundaries between Roman history and archaeology have begun to fade, as archaeological proxy data started playing an important role in studying socioeconomic processes and phenomena. This is especially true for several key debates such as those on Roman economic performance, diet and nutrition, and migration and mobility. More recently, archaeological sciences, such as stable isotope studies, have increasingly started contributing to these debates too. This paper is aimed at reviewing the valuable contributions stable isotope studies can make to these debates from the economic historian’s perspective and focuses on the interpretative side of such studies: what sort of economic meaning is attributed to certain results? It will be ascertained that there sometimes seems to be a divergence between the interpretations made by isotope experts and what many economic historians would conclude. The main cause for this lies in differences in the underlying assumptions as to the working and performance of ancient economies. We will provide examples where the same isotope results can be interpreted completely differently by switching between sets of underlying assumptions. We will argue that greater interaction between economic historians and stable isotope experts is desirable so as to avoid the emergence of parallel debates and to facilitate the construction of stronger, well-integrated narratives.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-021-01276-6
In this paper we present the results of the archaeobotanical analysis of impressions of plant remains encountered in the
profile and on the surface of clay fragments of ṭāwabīn. The fragments originate from Mamluk contexts at the site of
Tall Hisban located in southern Bilad as-Sham (modern Jordan and Palestine). This study models the formation process
of the botanical component of the ṭābūn as a context and explores the underlying processes explaining the presence of
the different kinds of impressions. After providing a description of the ṭābūn and consulting historical and ethnographic
descriptions, we present our model and interpret the results of the archaeobotanical analysis through it. Furthermore,
the archaeobotanical data obtained from the analysis of ṭābūn fragments helps contribute to the knowledge of the Tall
Hisban food economy. The importance of barley at the site during this period is not only reflected through ṭābūn fragments,
but more importantly are proxies for economic activities in the village.
Reviews by Annette M Hansen
Abstract:
This chapter provides an overview of the vegetal
resources of Bronze Age Nubia. After providing
a brief introduction to, and historiography of,
archaeobotanical research in Nubia, we first describe
the ecological context in which plants in Nubia grow,
and show how the complex interplay water availability,
seasonality, geology, and technology co-determine the
vegetation and the potential and nature of agriculture.
We then reflect on the management of the vegetal
resources and distinguish between taxa that naturally
occur in the environment and those that are cultivated
as crops on the fields, which were mostly introduced
to Nubia from other regions. We then continue to
discuss different practical categories of plants and
their uses (e.g., cereals, pulses, fruit trees) and reflect
on their attestation and potential use in Nubia. While
there are currently few archaeobotanical studies for
the study area and period, the results thus far attest
a diverse crop curriculum, a wide range of managed
wild plant resources, and the use of crop processing
waste as by-products that were upcycled into products
for other non-food sectors. These practices both reflect
resilience strategies and a sophisticated circular
economic system in Bronze Age Nubia.
Full citation:
F.B.J. Heinrich & A.M. Hansen (2021) 'A hard row to hoe. Ancient climate change from the crop perspective' in: P. Erdkamp, J.G. Manning & K. Verboven (eds.) Climate Change and Ancient Societies in Europe and the Near East. Diversity in Collapse and Resilience. Palgrave Studies in Ancient Economies. pp. 25-80.
https://rdcu.be/cffNH
Over the past decades, the disciplinary boundaries between Roman history and archaeology have begun to fade, as archaeological proxy data started playing an important role in studying socioeconomic processes and phenomena. This is especially true for several key debates such as those on Roman economic performance, diet and nutrition, and migration and mobility. More recently, archaeological sciences, such as stable isotope studies, have increasingly started contributing to these debates too. This paper is aimed at reviewing the valuable contributions stable isotope studies can make to these debates from the economic historian’s perspective and focuses on the interpretative side of such studies: what sort of economic meaning is attributed to certain results? It will be ascertained that there sometimes seems to be a divergence between the interpretations made by isotope experts and what many economic historians would conclude. The main cause for this lies in differences in the underlying assumptions as to the working and performance of ancient economies. We will provide examples where the same isotope results can be interpreted completely differently by switching between sets of underlying assumptions. We will argue that greater interaction between economic historians and stable isotope experts is desirable so as to avoid the emergence of parallel debates and to facilitate the construction of stronger, well-integrated narratives.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-021-01276-6
In this paper we present the results of the archaeobotanical analysis of impressions of plant remains encountered in the
profile and on the surface of clay fragments of ṭāwabīn. The fragments originate from Mamluk contexts at the site of
Tall Hisban located in southern Bilad as-Sham (modern Jordan and Palestine). This study models the formation process
of the botanical component of the ṭābūn as a context and explores the underlying processes explaining the presence of
the different kinds of impressions. After providing a description of the ṭābūn and consulting historical and ethnographic
descriptions, we present our model and interpret the results of the archaeobotanical analysis through it. Furthermore,
the archaeobotanical data obtained from the analysis of ṭābūn fragments helps contribute to the knowledge of the Tall
Hisban food economy. The importance of barley at the site during this period is not only reflected through ṭābūn fragments,
but more importantly are proxies for economic activities in the village.
This project aims to reconstruct the development of the agricultural economy in Islamic Jordan between the 6th and 16th centuries, through the lens of intertwined choices for technologies, crops and other innovations against the background of political, cultural and demographic developments.
First a model will be constructed in which the factors that determine a crop and practice-choices are related. This will be done using available data on local climate and geography as well as data on crop requirements and performance parameters, but also with incorporation of known ancient and medieval farming practices and technologies. Then, the model will be tested using two main types of data: 1.) Arabic textual sources, such as farming manuals and administrative documents, some of which will be for the first time be translated by the candidate, and 2.) archaeobotanical data (both published and to be collected) from archaeological sites in Jordan and can then be used to interpret the observed changes in crop and practice-choices. Part of this material will be collected by the candidate in person at the Tall Hisban excavation site in Jordan.
The interdisciplinary combination of textual and archaeobotanical evidence make the proposed research the first genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Jordanian Islamic agriculture, with not only the potential to resolve a current debate on the nature of economic development in the Islamic Empires at large, but will also shed a new light on the agricultural component of the Roman-Byzantine/Islamic transition and allow for cross-period comparisons. To this effort it would contribute a large, homogenous and well-evidenced case study stretching over one thousand years.
- paper forthcoming in the conference proceedings -
18/03/2016: ASK Spring School – “Environmental Methods in Mamluk and Islamic Studies”.
(Venues: 15-17/3/2016 - Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg “History and Society during the Mamluk Era, 1250-1517”, Heussallee 18-24; 14 and 18/3/2016 – Research Unit of Islamic Archaeology, 7 Brühler Strasse)
Annette Hansen (University of Groningen) and Chiara Corbina (Marie Curie Intra-European Fellow, University of Sheffield): Collaborative research: Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in Mamluk Syria
(Venue: Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg “History and Society during the Mamluk Era, 1250-1517”, Heussallee 18-24)
BrIAS Workshop W08 Long term perspectives on Foodways & Agriculture in North East Africa. On April 5 and 6 2022 both days from 13.00 to 17.00 Central European Time