Agriculture in the Prehistoric Aegean: Data versus Speculation

Several models proposed for the rise of the Late Bronze Age palace society in Greece involve aspects of the agricultural economy. Such models should, at least in part, be testable through analysis of one of the residues of agricultural activity, the botanical remains. Three of these models are summarized with a view to pinpointing specific areas of enquiry that can be addressed through archaeobotanical studies. Questions of increased crop diversity, crop purity and specialization, production of surplus, technological innovation, and climatic fluctuation are examined in light of the available botanical data. Where data are lacking, potential avenues of enquiry are discussed in order to determine the types of data that should be collected for addressing these questions. We do not yet have botanical data for the Late Neolithic through Middle Bronze Age that have been analyzed and reported in sufficient detail to test the models. Although one might suggest a slight increase in crop diversity with the addition of vine in the Early Bronze Age of southern Greece, it is not yet possible with the available data to support any of the other hypotheses posed by the models. The potential exists, however, through spatially intensive sampling and careful analysis on appropriate sites, to address these and other questions concerning agriculture in the prehistoric Aegean.