Bringing in the Sheaves

Economy and Metaphor in the Roman World

Häftad, Engelska, 2015

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The annual harvesting of cereal crops was one of the most important economic tasks in the Roman Empire. Not only was it urgent and critical for the survival of state and society, it mobilized huge numbers of men and women every year from across the whole face of the Mediterranean. In Bringing in the Sheaves, Brent D. Shaw investigates the ways in which human labour interacted with the instruments of harvesting, what part the workers and their tools had in the whole economy, and how the work itself was organized.Both collective and individual aspects of the story are investigated, centred on the life-story of a single reaper whose work in the wheat fields of North Africa is documented in his funerary epitaph. The narrative then proceeds to an analysis of the ways in which this cyclical human behaviour formed and influenced modes of thinking about matters beyond the harvest. The work features an edition of the reaper inscription, and a commentary on it. It is also lavishly illustrated to demonstrate the important iconic and pictorial dimensions of the story.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2015-04-13
Mått151 x 229 x 30 mm
Vikt740 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieRobson Classical Lectures
Antal sidor478
FörlagUniversity of Toronto Press
ISBN9781442629226
UtmärkelserCHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

Tillhör följande kategorier

Romarna inom Historia och arkeologi
Forntidens historia inom Historia och arkeologi
Ekonomiska system inom Ekonomi och ledarskap

List of IllustrationsPreface/Introduction1. Under the Burning Sun2. Primus in Arvis / First in the Fields3. Sickle & Scythe / Man & Machine4. The Grim Reapers5. Blade of VengeanceAppendix 1: Harvesting Contracts from Roman Egypt and ItalyAppendix 2: The Maktar Harvester Inscription: Text and CommentaryAppendix 3: The Gallo-Roman Reaping Machines: Iconographic DataMap 1.1: Africa of the Maktar HarvesterMap 2.1: Roman Mactaris (Maktar) and RegionMap 3.1: Northern Gaul: Heartland of the Reaping MachineMap 3.2: Distribution of Sickle and Scythe Finds in Late Prehistoric and Roman GaulTable 1.1: Survey of Modern/Post World War II Land Use Patterns in the MaghribTable 1.2: Pre-World War II Cereal Grain Production in the MaghribTable 1.3: Survey of Modern/Post World War II Cereal Grain Production in the MaghribTable 1.4: Pre World War I Indigenous Cereal Grain Production in AlgeriaAbbreviations of SourcesBibliography

‘Fascinating study of harvest and harvesting in the Roman world…Not only is this the most wide-ranging study of the harvest in antiquity that I am aware of, it should be read by all who are interested in the link between life and thought in the Roman world.’ - Paul Erdkamp (American Historical Review, vol 119:02:2014) ‘How wonderful to read a book written by a true scholar, which brims with humor, critique, insight, and expansiveness… Highly recommended.’- S. Hammer (Choice Magazine vol 51:01:2013) ‘The volume is incredibly rich in content with almost one hundred illustrations in black and white, more than a thousand endnotes, and thirty-five pages of bibliography… Shaw’s book advances our understanding of agricultural society and is an important contribution to the study of late antiquity.’- Jesper Carlsen (The Historian vol 77:01:2015)