Agricultural history by subject
Land & water in agricultural history
17 topics on land & water, from 6th–5th millennia BCE (Lower Mesopotamia) to 24 November 1874 (DeKalb · Illinois).
- Topics
- 17
- Time span
- 6,000 BCE – 1874 CE
- Regions
- 4
- Sources cited
- 208
In brief
17 topics from 6,000 BCE to 1874 CE. Most of them come from Asia (7), Americas (5), Europe (4). The earliest is The history of irrigation in ancient Mesopotamia (6th–5th millennia BCE, Lower Mesopotamia); the most recent is Barbed wire and agriculture’s new boundaries (24 November 1874, DeKalb · Illinois).
Topics in chronological order
No topic matches your search.
- 6th–5th millennia BCEPrehistoryThe history of irrigation in ancient MesopotamiaIrrigation supports farming on the alluvial plains of southern Mesopotamia.
- c. 6600 cal BPPrehistoryBudj Bim: Gunditjmara Aquaculture and Water ManagementChannels, stone barriers and holding ponds enabled Gunditjmara communities to direct water, retain eels and sustain a long-lived food economy.
- c. 2600–1900 BCEAntiquityIndus agriculture: cities, rivers and two growing seasonsDiverse winter and summer crops supplied the cities and villages of the extensive Harappan civilisation.
- 1st millennium BCE–16th centuryAntiquityAndean agriculture: terraces, raised fields and farming across elevationsHow Andean communities combined hillside terraces, raised fields, diverse crops and food storage.
- 1st millennium BCE and later historyAntiquityPersian qanats: groundwater and dryland agricultureGently sloping tunnels brought groundwater to fields and settlements, connecting technical knowledge with organised resource sharing.
- Fourth–seventh centuries CEAntiquityDesert Farming in the Negev: From the Nabataeans to ByzantiumTerraces, channels and sustained labour turned episodic runoff into a farming resource, supporting wine production for distant markets.
- c. 450–1450 CEAntiquityHohokam Canals: Farming the Sonoran DesertCanal networks connected fields, settlements and shared work in the Sonoran Desert; their transformation did not mean the disappearance of its peoples.
- Seventh century CEMiddle AgesTerra Preta: How Amazonian Communities Changed Their SoilsSettlement deposits, charcoal and organic inputs reveal how Amazonian communities created and used enduring fertile soils.
- 9th–11th centuriesMiddle AgesThree-field farming in medieval EuropeWinter crops, spring crops and fallow form a rotation that reshapes field organisation and the working year.
- Ninth–fifteenth centuriesMiddle AgesAngkor: Khmer Water Management and Agricultural LandscapesReservoirs and canals connected fields, settlements and temples. Their history encompasses labour, monsoon variability and gradual regional transformation.
- c. 900–1521Middle AgesChinampas in the Basin of Mexico: farming between fields and canalsThe history of fixed raised fields linking food production with water transport and the transformation of wetlands.
- 9th–11th centuriesMiddle AgesBali’s Subak: A Millennium of Cooperation over Water and RiceCanals, temples and farmers’ agreements formed a system in which water allocation depended on cooperation extending beyond a single field.
- 12th–13th centuriesMiddle AgesCistercian Granges: How Monasteries Organised Farming EstatesCistercian houses linked fields, pastures, mills and resource rights into networks of farms. Organisation, diverse labour and market connections underpinned their economy.
- Sixteenth–eighteenth centuriesEarly modernIfugao Terraces: Rice, Autonomy and Revised DatingArchaeology revises terrace chronology, revealing local responses to colonialism, diverse farming and the enduring importance of water rights.
- Sixteenth–nineteenth centuriesEarly modernEnglish water meadows: earlier fodder from river valleysControlled water flow encouraged early grass growth, linking meadow management with livestock and arable land.
- 1607–1612Early modernBeemster 1612: Turning a Lake into an Agricultural LandscapeMerchant investment, wind-powered drainage and a geometric land division created farmland dependent on continuing water management.
- 24 November 1874Industrial eraBarbed wire and agriculture’s new boundariesGlidden’s patent helped industrialise fencing, supporting crop protection and grazing control while intensifying disputes over land.
Where it happened
4Lower Mesopotamia9Victoria · Australia14Indus Valley · Pakistan and India17Central Andes · Peru and Bolivia17Central Andes · Peru and Bolivia18Iranian Plateau22Negev Highlands23Salt and Gila valleys · Arizona25Amazonia · Brazil27Medieval Europe28Angkor · Cambodia29Xochimilco · Basin of Mexico32Bali · Indonesia34Yorkshire · England43Ifugao · Philippines44Wessex · England45Beemster · Netherlands68DeKalb · Illinois
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Questions and answers
Which is the earliest topic in this subject?
The history of irrigation in ancient Mesopotamia: 6th–5th millennia BCE, Present-day Iraq · Tigris and Euphrates valleys.
Which is the most recent?
Barbed wire and agriculture’s new boundaries: 24 November 1874: Glidden’s patent; development from the 1860s, DeKalb, Illinois; the US plains and wider technological circulation.
Which regions are covered?
Asia (7), Americas (5), Europe (4), Oceania (1).
Which eras do these topics belong to?
Prehistory (2), Antiquity (5), Middle Ages (6), Early modern (3), Industrial era (1).
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