Assessing Ancient Agricultural Regimes: a Case Study of the Egyptian Nile Delta

Second Author's Department

Sociology, Egyptology & Anthropology Department

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https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2025.2508088

All Authors

Claire Malleson Mennat Allah El Dorry

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Journal of Field Archaeology

Publication Date

1-1-2025

doi

10.1080/00934690.2025.2508088

Abstract

In this paper, we present a case study assessing ancient Egyptian agriculture in the Nile Delta, focusing on cereal preferences and by-product use. We identify issues associated with using chaff vs. grains as markers of cereal crop production patterns. After considering factors associated with the integration of data gathered by different specialists from multiple sites, we apply several simple statistical measures to the data. Our results show that relative quantities of cereal grains and chaff ubiquity ratios best indicate cereal preferences. Relative changes in chaff quantities reflect variations in by-product use. This methodology is applicable to a variety of ecological settings and cultural frameworks, and is especially appropriate for any region in which a combination of free-threshing and glumed cereals were cultivated. Our case study provides a new solution to the challenges of assessing ancient crop regimes and the issues associated with utilizing legacy data.

First Page

544

Last Page

557

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