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ABSENT-MINDED LANDLORDS AND INNOVATING PEASANTS? THE PRESS IN AFRICA AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

ABSENT-MINDED LANDLORDS AND INNOVATING PEASANTS? THE PRESS IN AFRICA AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN The screw mechanism for wine and oil presses was widely applied in the eastern Mediterranean only in Late Antiquity, about half a millennium after its invention. This occurred in relation to a great intensification of commercial production in this region, including the bringing into cultivation of marginal land and the occupation of new areas. However, why was a screw mechanism not used in other important export regions, such as North Africa? Case studies of settlement patterns in a number of regions suggest that the absentee landlords of large estates seem to have been less inclined to adopt changed technology, whereas resident owners—whether of large or small estates—living close to their land, and directly involved in the processes of production, may have been more likely to do so. Among the many factors at play—technical, geographic, cultural, chronological, environmental, and commercial—the relationship of the landowner to his land may have played an important role in the diffusion of technology. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Late Antique Archaeology Brill

ABSENT-MINDED LANDLORDS AND INNOVATING PEASANTS? THE PRESS IN AFRICA AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Late Antique Archaeology , Volume 4 (1): 119 – Jan 1, 2008

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1570-6893
eISSN
2213-4522
DOI
10.1163/22134522-90000085
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The screw mechanism for wine and oil presses was widely applied in the eastern Mediterranean only in Late Antiquity, about half a millennium after its invention. This occurred in relation to a great intensification of commercial production in this region, including the bringing into cultivation of marginal land and the occupation of new areas. However, why was a screw mechanism not used in other important export regions, such as North Africa? Case studies of settlement patterns in a number of regions suggest that the absentee landlords of large estates seem to have been less inclined to adopt changed technology, whereas resident owners—whether of large or small estates—living close to their land, and directly involved in the processes of production, may have been more likely to do so. Among the many factors at play—technical, geographic, cultural, chronological, environmental, and commercial—the relationship of the landowner to his land may have played an important role in the diffusion of technology.

Journal

Late Antique ArchaeologyBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2008

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