부산대학교 도서관

Agriculture in the arid Arabian Peninsula became established during the early Bronze Age and relied, at least in eastern Arabia, on the cultivation of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and annual crops, namely barley (Hordeum vulgaressp. vulgare, H. vulgaressp. distichon) and different wheats—in particular, emmer (Triticum turgidumssp. dicoccon), durum/rivet wheat (T. turgidumssp. durum/turgidum), bread wheat (T. aestivumssp. aestivum)—and pulses, such as pea (Lathyrus oleraceus) and lentil (Vicia lens). The association of these crops with irrigation systems indicates the presence of resilient oasian agrosystems allowing the production of multiple crops over a reduced surface area thanks to water use optimization. It is also a hub connecting local agrarian producers with merchants and travellers through exchange, particularly dynamic during historical times, which can be highlighted through archaeobotanical data. At the crossroads of the Mediterranean, African and Indian Ocean spheres, the Arabian Peninsula is a relevant observatory of the diffusion processes of new Mediterranean, tropical and subtropical crops. Recent archaeobotanical finds from antique and early medieval Islamic sites show that ancient oases were ecological and economic niches hosting new plants, such as rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolorssp. bicolor), pepper (Piper nigrum) and cotton (Gossypium arboreum/herbaceum), some of which were probably acclimatized and cultivated locally. Their introduction should have modified the spatial, temporal and labour organizations of pre-existent agricultural systems, implying the transfer and development of new know-how. Therefore, by following an interdisciplinary approach using archaeobotany, archaeology, history and isotope geochemistry, this contribution aims to describe some of these new plants and their chronology and discuss their potential introduction into local agricultural systems.