Chapter 11. Finding fields: Concluding remarks

Abstract

Ancient agricultural landscapes are increasingly recognized as a vital subject of archaeological inquiry, the study of which requires methods and approaches of the social and natural sciences as well as the humanities. This chapter identifies three recurring themes addressed variously in the contributions to this volume that demonstrate the broad relevance of agricultural landscapes to an understanding of ancient society: globalization and hierarchy, niche construction, and memory embedded in agricultural practice and material traces of ancient fields.