Medieval Agricultural Practices in the "Champion" Region

Summary

During the early medieval state formation process, England’s political organization transformed from localized tribal groups to large and consolidated kingdoms. Farmers at early medieval settlements experienced a related increase in agricultural production demands, and they introduced improved agricultural technology such as replacing the light ard with the heavier moldboard plow. The midlands counties (commonly referred to as the core of the "Central Province" or "Champion" region) are often credited as the source of early medieval agricultural innovation.

Macrobotanical indicators of crop production practices are underutilized in medieval rural settlement studies. Archaeobotanists working in the British Iron Age have developed directly relevant models of identifying the crop processing phase, the lighter ard plow from the heavier moldboard plow, and environmental stress indicators due to intensification. I will present the preliminary analysis of macrobotanical samples from the medieval manor site at Harpswell, Lincolnshire. I will apply the archaeobotanical models to these samples and additional samples reported in other Lincolnshire "Central Province" settlements to identify agricultural changes and question the applicability of "Champion" to this region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21273