Fuller, D;
(2015)
The economic basis of the Qustul splinter state: cash crops, subsistence shifts, and labour demands in the Post-Meroitic transition.
In: Zach, M, (ed.)
The Kushite World: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies.
(pp. 33-60).
Verein der Förderer der Sudanforschung: Vienna, Austria.
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Abstract
This paper provides a synthetic review of archaeobotanical evidence and other sources of inference on past agricultural systems over the long-term in Nubia, with a focus on the transformations of the Late Meroitic period to the Post-Meroitic period. The adoption of double-cropping in the north, facilitated by saqia irrigation made new labour demands, creating a demographic vacuum, while agricultural innovation and intensification also allowed more effective cash-crop production in Nubia, including cotton and for a period grapes. The resulting increase in population and local wealth production provided the necessary economic foundation for an independent polity. The saqia effect combined with savanna crop effect created a population sink in northern Nubia, which allowed for the emergence of local peasantry on which a state system could base. The foundation of the Qustul-Ballana state can be attributed at least in part to these economic developments.
Type: | Book chapter |
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Title: | The economic basis of the Qustul splinter state: cash crops, subsistence shifts, and labour demands in the Post-Meroitic transition |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
Publisher version: | https://sudanforschung.univie.ac.at/frameset.html |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
Keywords: | Nubia, Archaeology, Archaeobotany, Agriculture, Sudan |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1475211 |
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