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- Title
The exploitation of the common-lands in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula between the Roman and the Medieval period.
- Authors
Fernández Mier, Margarita; Quirós Castillo, Juan Antonio
- Abstract
The historiography on Spanish rural medieval history has emphasized the significance of communal spaces in the economy of rural communities. Communal areas provided sustenance of livestock and served to collect goods and raw materials. However, because they were spaces of collective exploitation, it was difficult to document or quantify their use throughout history. Written documentation concerning the communal spaces appears after the thirteenth century or later, but for earlier periods documentary references are scarce. Knowledge of traditional agricultural systems that have remained in use until the mid-twentieth century has led to the conclusion that they are based of integral and optimal exploitation of the various resources provided by different ecological niches. That is, they shaped multifunctional landscapes that were slowly constructed and transformed over the centuries. Therefore, it is not possible to carry out isolated studies about agriculture without taking into account ranching or logging. Nonetheless, the latter practices have been traditionally more difficult to record and analyze. This paper presents two case studies of communal spaces in mountain areas in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Their chronology ranges between the Roman period and the thirteenth century. The first is located in the Cantabrian Mountains, a mountain area characterized by wide spaces devoted to farming. The other case is the Basque Country, another mountainous although more smooth territory. A number of projects have been carried out to address this research based on different information sources that are allowing us to shed light on occupation and exploitation patterns at different levels. In the framework of these projects, we have outlined two work lines to address the analysis of agricultural economic activity in the northwest of Iberia. First, the comprehensive study of unhabited villages based on the joint research in built-up areas of habitat and in agricultural lands. Second, the investigation of currently inhabited villages, where we have analyzed built-up spaces as well as areas of livestock breeding and agricultural exploitation. We call this activity "agricultural archaeology". It is based on archaeological records of different nature: palaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geoarchaeology, as well as archaeological survey and excavation of structures located in communal areas. The information obtained from these investigations allows us to delineate some initial conclusions. Both cases illustrate the scarce presence of farming uses during the Roman period. It is not easy to determine whether this difficulty to find farming uses derives from the state of research or to the ways of managing these resources and the kind of farming practices at the time. On the other hand, it is clear that during the Middle Ages a systematic appropriation of mountain areas took place by peasant communities which, since then on, start to be articulated as villages. From the ninth century onwards, the written sources refer to sernas, erías, ferragines, and agros. These terms underpin the agricultural structures that have remained in use until the mid-twentieth century, showing the resilience of communal forms of management. In many cases, these forms of exploitation have served as elements underpinning the identities of peasant communities. Finally, our case studies do not reveal the presence of seigniorial agency until at least the tenth century. Therefore, there is a striking contrast between the scarce evidence of seigniorial agency in archaeological record, and its relevance in written records.
- Subjects
IBERIAN Peninsula; SPAIN; MIDDLE Ages; COUNTRY life
- Publication
Il Capitale Culturale: Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage, 2015, Vol 12, p858
- ISSN
2039-2362
- Publication type
Article