Early Imperial Roman Peasant Communities in Central Spain: Agrarian Structure, Standards of Living, and Inequality in the North of Roman Carpetania
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Jesús Bermejo Tirado
Abstract
Previous research on the rural world in the center of Roman Spain has been marked by the study of a series of well-known monumental villae such as Valdetorres del Jarama (Madrid, Spain) or Carranque (Toledo, Spain). The exclusive focus of scholarship to date on this kind of site reveals an implicit acceptance of the slave mode of production as the dominant model for the articulation of social and economic relationships in the region. However, in the last few decades, the development of preventive archaeology has led to the discovery of a whole series of different Roman rural sites. Even though many archaeologists have tended to interpret all these sites as part of a supposedly predominant pattern of the Catonian villa, a comparative review of these recently discovered rural sites can be used to propose alternative models for the articulation of social and economic structures in the rural areas of central Roman Spain. The analysis of the remains of residential buildings, modes of production, and consumption trends recorded in the archaeological record of these recently excavated sites reveals traces of social and economic structures that, far from belonging to the elite stereotype of the villa system, can be identified as typical of traditional peasant communities.
Abstract
Previous research on the rural world in the center of Roman Spain has been marked by the study of a series of well-known monumental villae such as Valdetorres del Jarama (Madrid, Spain) or Carranque (Toledo, Spain). The exclusive focus of scholarship to date on this kind of site reveals an implicit acceptance of the slave mode of production as the dominant model for the articulation of social and economic relationships in the region. However, in the last few decades, the development of preventive archaeology has led to the discovery of a whole series of different Roman rural sites. Even though many archaeologists have tended to interpret all these sites as part of a supposedly predominant pattern of the Catonian villa, a comparative review of these recently discovered rural sites can be used to propose alternative models for the articulation of social and economic structures in the rural areas of central Roman Spain. The analysis of the remains of residential buildings, modes of production, and consumption trends recorded in the archaeological record of these recently excavated sites reveals traces of social and economic structures that, far from belonging to the elite stereotype of the villa system, can be identified as typical of traditional peasant communities.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
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Part I: From Traditional to New Approaches: Methodological Insights
- Early Imperial Roman Peasant Communities in Central Spain: Agrarian Structure, Standards of Living, and Inequality in the North of Roman Carpetania 23
- Perceiving the Countryside: Some Thoughts on the Representation of Agrarian Cycles and Tasks in the Mosaics of Roman Spain 49
- Investigating Livestock Practices in the Countryside of Roman Spain: An Archaeozoological Approach 71
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Part II: Beyond Villascapes: Peasants in Landscapes
- A Peasant Landscape in the Eastern Roman Spain. An Archaeological Approach to Territorial Organization and Economic Models 91
- Exploring the Complexity of Roman Agrarian Landscapes. State of the Art and a Study Case from the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula 111
- Roman Peasantry, Spatial Archaeology, and Off-site Survey in Hispania 143
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Part III: Comparing Villae and Peasants Habitats in Settlement Systems
- On the Margins of the Villa System? Rural Architecture and Socioeconomic Strategies in North-Eastern Roman Spain 169
- Villae and Farms: Early Imperial Rural Settlement in the Adaja-Eresma Basin (Central Roman Spain) 201
- With the measure you use you will be measured back… Late Roman and Early Medieval Peasants in Central Spain on Examination 229
- From Villa to Village? Relational Approaches within Roman and Medieval Iberian Rural Societies 253
- Conclusions 277
- List of Contributors 285
- List of Figures 291
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: From Traditional to New Approaches: Methodological Insights
- Early Imperial Roman Peasant Communities in Central Spain: Agrarian Structure, Standards of Living, and Inequality in the North of Roman Carpetania 23
- Perceiving the Countryside: Some Thoughts on the Representation of Agrarian Cycles and Tasks in the Mosaics of Roman Spain 49
- Investigating Livestock Practices in the Countryside of Roman Spain: An Archaeozoological Approach 71
-
Part II: Beyond Villascapes: Peasants in Landscapes
- A Peasant Landscape in the Eastern Roman Spain. An Archaeological Approach to Territorial Organization and Economic Models 91
- Exploring the Complexity of Roman Agrarian Landscapes. State of the Art and a Study Case from the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula 111
- Roman Peasantry, Spatial Archaeology, and Off-site Survey in Hispania 143
-
Part III: Comparing Villae and Peasants Habitats in Settlement Systems
- On the Margins of the Villa System? Rural Architecture and Socioeconomic Strategies in North-Eastern Roman Spain 169
- Villae and Farms: Early Imperial Rural Settlement in the Adaja-Eresma Basin (Central Roman Spain) 201
- With the measure you use you will be measured back… Late Roman and Early Medieval Peasants in Central Spain on Examination 229
- From Villa to Village? Relational Approaches within Roman and Medieval Iberian Rural Societies 253
- Conclusions 277
- List of Contributors 285
- List of Figures 291
- Index 295
