Finding millet in the Roman World

Summary

Examining the evidence for millet in the Roman empire, during the period, circa 753BC-610AD, presents a number of challenges: a handful of scant mentions in the ancient surviving agrarian texts, several frescoes, only a few fortuitous preserved archaeological finds and limited archaeobotanical and isotopic evidence. Ancient agrarian texts note millet’s ecological preferences and multiple uses but disparage its lowly status. Recent archaeobotanical and isotopic evidence has shown that millet was being used throughout the Roman period. The compiled data to date suggests that millet consumption was a more complex socio-economic issue than the ancient sources alone would lead one to believe. Combining multiple lines of evidence, including the ancient sources, isotopic, archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence the status and role of millet in the Roman world is examined and placed within its economic, cultural and social background across time and space in the Roman world.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage