An ecology of trade : tropical Asian cultivars in the Ancient Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean
This thesis offers an ecological reading of long distance trade in the ancient world by investigating the anthropogenic movement of tropical Asian crops from South Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The crops under consideration include rice, cotton, citrus species, cucumbers, luffas, melons, lotus, taro and sissoo. The 'tropicalisation' of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean agriculture was a sluggish process but one that had a significant impact on the agricultural landscapes, production patterns, dietary habits and cultural identities of peoples across the Middle East and the Mediterranean by the end of the 1st millennium BCE. This process substantially predates the so-called tropical crop-driven 'Agricultural Revolution' of the early Islamic period posited by the historian Andrew Watson (1974-1983). The existing literature has, in fact, largely failed to appreciate the lengthy time-scale of this phenomenon whose origins lie in the Late Bronze Age. In order to contextualise the spread of tropical Asian crops to the Middle East and beyond, the history of crop movements is prefaced by a survey of long distance connectivity across maritime (Indian Ocean) and overland (Iranian plateau) routes from
Muthukumaran, S.
An ecology of trade : tropical Asian cultivars in the Ancient Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. This thesis offers an ecological reading of long distance trade in the ancient world by investigating the anthropogenic movement of tropical Asian crops from South Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The crops under consideration include rice, cotton, citrus species, cucumbers, luffas, melons, lotus, taro and sissoo. The 'tropicalisation' of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean agriculture was a sluggish process but one that had a significant impact on the agricultural landscapes, production patterns, dietary habits and cultural identities of peoples across the Middle East and the Mediterranean by the end of the 1st millennium BCE. This process substantially predates the so-called tropical crop-driven 'Agricultural Revolution' of the early Islamic period posited by the historian Andrew Watson (1974-1983). The existing literature has, in fact, largely failed to appreciate the lengthy time-scale of this phenomenon whose origins lie in the Late Bronze Age. In order to contextualise the spread of tropical Asian crops to the Middle East and beyond, the history of crop movements is prefaced by a survey of long distance connectivity across maritime (Indian Ocean) and overland (Iranian plateau) routes from
ecology trade tropical asian ancient middle east eastern_mediterranean offer ecological reading long_distance_trade ancient_world investigate anthropogenic movement tropical asian crop south asia middle east_mediterranean crop consideration include rice cotton specie middle eastern_mediterranean agriculture process significant_impact agricultural landscape production pattern dietary habit cultural_identity people across middle east_mediterranean bce process substantially predate so_called tropical crop driven agricultural revolution early_islamic period posit historian exist_literature fact largely fail_appreciate lengthy time scale phenomenon whose origin lie late_bronze_age order_contextualise spread tropical asian crop middle_east beyond history crop movement preface survey long_distance connectivity across maritime indian_ocean overland iranian plateau route