An Archaeobotanical History of Arable Agriculture in Yorkshire (4000 BCE - 1100 CE)

Abstract

The extensive reports produced by commercial and research excavations provide valuable, though under-exploited, data for investigating macro-scale changes in the archaeobotanical record. In this thesis, I undertake a comprehensive synthesis of archaeobotanical evidence to critically analyse the long-term history of arable agriculture in Yorkshire (UK), spanning from the first evidence of cereal crops in ca. 4000 BCE, until 1100 CE. Yorkshire’s macrobotanical evidence has been collated and analysed using ubiquity and relative abundance analysis to establish long-term diachronic trends in cereal cultivation practices. The main outcomes of this analysis have been 1) a refinement of the chronologies for the introduction of new cereals to the region and 2) a clarification of their transitions into economically important crops. Arable weed data is also investigated, identifying the tempo of weed translocations into Yorkshire during different periods and providing insights into the agriculture practices which shaped the environment and unintentionally allowed these plants to flourish. These analyses are contextualised through a detailed review of the pollen evidence that provides valuable context for the spread of agriculture and the broader environmental changes occurring in the regional landscape. Paleoclimate records were collated to explore the long-term interaction between climate and crops. Results show a post-Roman transition away from a spelt wheat dominated agriculture to a barley dominated agriculture complemented by other emerging free-threshing cereals.