Rye’s Rise and Rome’s Fall: Agriculture and Climate in Europe during Late Antiquity
Paolo Squatriti
Abstract This essay discusses the introduction and circulation of plants in western Roman empire between roughly AD 300 800. It focuses on one cultivated plant, rye, a few ecologically different regions Gaul Italy, order to probe causes botanical successes failures. suggests that late antique people increasingly took care rye for economic, social, cultural reasons. reaches this conclusion through an analysis other explanations success such as climate patterns human migration. these are unsatisfactory because they do not account all varied instances increased cultivation 4th 8th c. Europe.
Late Antique Archaeology