Terraced Fields, Irrigation Systems and Agricultural Production in Early Islamic Palestine and Jordan

Abstract

Contrary to previous analysis that suggested a rapid deterioration and abandonment of settlements and their related agricultural fields in Early Islamic Palestine and Jordan, recent studies point to a continuity of agricultural landscapes, to the introduction of new water management technologies, and to the diffusion of new types of crops into the region between the 8th and the 11th centuries. Forty years after Andrew Watson published his paradigmatic study on an “Islamic Agricultural Revolution,” this article, based on recent archaeological studies and new dating methodologies, suggests a modified view of “continuity in change” of agricultural practices in the Early Islamic period. Along the continuity in traditional agricultural strategies, the introduction of new plant species and water management technologies into the region gradually changed the economic basis of the local populations. The evaluation of several case-studies from the hinterland of Jerusalem, the Negev highlands, the ?Arabah Valley, and southern Jordan, show that together with the continuity of existing agricultural practices in the Mediterranean area and in the Negev Highlands, new irrigation technologies, cultivation methodologies and plant species were introduced to the Jordan and ?Arabah Valleys following the Arab conquest. This process affected the patterns of consumption and distribution of agricultural goods and triggered a change in dietary and dining habits.