Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Disentangling the effect of farming practice from aridity on crop stable isotope values

A present-day model from Morocco and its application to early farming sites in the eastern Mediterranean

Bibliographic Data

ID4189009
AuthorsAmy K Styring (0000-0002-1158-1301, University of Oxford, corresponding author), Mohammed Ater (0000-0003-2637-8215, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University), Younès Hmimsa (0000-0003-1054-8929, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University), Rebecca Fraser (University of Oxford), Holly Miller (0000-0002-0394-9444, University of Nottingham), Reinder Neef (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Zentrale), J Pearson (0000-0001-6503-1041, University of Liverpool), Jessica A Pearson, Amy Bogaard (0000-0002-6716-8890, University of Oxford)
Year2016
Volume3
Issue1
Pages2-22
Publication date2016-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Anthropocene Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2053-0196 • E-ISSN: 2053-020X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/2053019616630762
OpenAlexW2284130653
LanguageEN
Citations received58
References cited67

Agriculture has played a pivotal role in shaping landscapes, soils and vegetation. Developing a better understanding of early farming practices can contribute to wider questions regarding the long-term impact of farming and its nature in comparison with present-day traditional agrosystems. In this study we determine stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of barley grains from a series of present-day traditionally managed farming plots in Morocco, capturing a range of annual rainfall and farming practices. This allows a framework to be developed to refine current isotopic approaches used to infer manuring intensity and crop water status in (semi-)arid regions. This method has been applied to charred crop remains from two early farming sites in the eastern Mediterranean: Abu Hureyra and 'Ain Ghazal. In this way, our study enhances knowledge of agricultural practice in the past, adding to understanding of how people have shaped and adapted to their environment over thousands of years

Agriculture · Agroforestry · Arid · Biology · Crop · Dryland farming · Geography · Mediterranean climate · Vegetation (pathology · Environmental Science · Ecology · Forestry

  • The origins of nomadic pastoralism in the eastern Jordanian steppe

    Holly Miller, Douglas Baird et al.•Levant•2018

  • Isotope evidence for agricultural extensification reveals how the world's first cities were fed

    Open Access•Amy K Styring, Michael Charles et al.•Nature Plants•2017

  • “Cropping the Margins”

    Open Access•Charlotte Diffey, Geoff Emberling et al.•Iraq•2023

  • Differences in the isotopic composition of individual grains and aggregated seed samples affect interpretation of ancient plant cultivation practices

    Open Access•Nick James, Nathaniel James et al.•Frontiers in Environmental…•2025

  • Rice stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values as potential indicators of watering and manuring regimes

    Open Access•Rubi Wu, Eric J Belfield et al.•Frontiers in Environmental…•2025

  • Into thin air

    Open Access•Melissa M Ritchey, Li Tang et al.•Frontiers in Environmental…•2024

  • Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains

    Open Access•Amy K Styring, Petra Vaiglova et al.•Frontiers in Environmental…•2024

  • Nascent agricultural extensification and distinct household cultivation strategies supported first population centers in Neolithic southeastern Europe

    Open Access•Paul R Duffy, Kelly Reed et al.•Frontiers in Environmental…•2026

  • Iso-Wetlands

    Open Access•R E Stevens, Hazel Reade et al.•Archaeology International•2022

  • Centralisation and long-term change in farming regimes

    Amy K Styring, Amy Styring et al.•Proceedings of the Prehistoric…•2017

  • Late Neolithic to Bronze Age water management and upland rice cultivation in the mountainous areas of Southeastern China Coast

    Open Access•Guiping Wu, Xinxin Zuo et al.•Quaternary International•2024

  • IsoArcH.eu

    Open Access•Kevin Salesse, Ricardo Fernandes et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2017

  • Agricultural practices during the middle and late Yangshao periods (6000-4500 BP) in the Guanzhong Basin, North China

    Open Access•Dan Jin, Xue Shang et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  • Cereal production in the Late Bronze Age to Mamluk periods in the Zerqa Triangle, Jordan, based on irrigation, rainfed farming or a combination of the two

    Open Access•C C Bakels•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  • Spatial and temporal patterns in Neolithic and Bronze Age agriculture in Poland based on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of cereal grains

    Open Access•Aldona Mueller-Bieniek, Mark Nowak et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2019

  • A stable isotope and functional weed ecology investigation into Chalcolithic cultivation practices in Central Anatolia

    Open Access•Elizabeth Stroud, Amy Bogaard et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2021

  • A new chronology based on OSL and radiocarbon dating for the archaeological settlements of Vadnagar (western India) along with magnetic and isotopic imprints of cultural sediments

    Open Access•Rajesh Agnihotri, Nikhil Patel et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2021

  • Animal stable isotope data from Dzhetyasar and Oguz culture sites of the lower Syr Darya in Kazakhstan

    Open Access•Yslam Kurmaniyazov, A Tazhekeyev et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2023

  • Exploring Diversity in Neolithic Agropastoral Management in Mainland Greece Using Stable Isotope Analysis

    Petra Vaiglova, John Coleman et al.•Environmental Archaeology•2021

  • Food and Farming Systems in the Neolithic – an Impossible Vista

    John Smyth, Rosalind E Gillis•Environmental Archaeology•2022

  • First Direct Evidence of Agrarian Practices in the Alava Plateau (Northern Iberia) During the Middle Ages Through Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analyses of Charred Seeds

    Maite I García-Collado, Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo et al.•Environmental Archaeology•2022

  • From Traditional Farming in Morocco to Early Urban Agroecology in Northern Mesopotamia

    Open Access•Amy Bogaard, Amy K Styring et al.•Environmental Archaeology•2016

  • The Proof is in the Pudding

    Amy K Styring, C Knipper et al.•Environmental Archaeology•2018

  • Do Uncharred Plants Preserve Original Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Compositions

    Open Access•Jessica Z Metcalfe, Jim I Mead•Journal of Archaeological Method…•2018

  • Searching for the Origins of Bere Barley

    Open Access•Michael Wallace, Vincent Bonhomme et al.•Journal of Archaeological Method…•2018

  • Archaeological Approaches to Agricultural Economies

    Open Access•J M Marston•Journal of Archaeological Research•2021

  • Crop water status from plant stable carbon isotope values

    Open Access•Penelope Jones, T C O''Connell et al.•The Holocene•2021

  • Nitrogen isotope values of Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet) grains

    Open Access•Amy K Styring, Amadou Makhtar Diop et al.•Vegetation History and…•2019

  • Reassessing the origin of lentil cultivation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Southwest Asia

    Open Access•Ceren Kabukcu•Vegetation History and…•2023

  • Isotopic insights into quinoa agriculture at an Andean hillfort town (cal ad 1250–1450)

    Open Access•Anna Fancher Whittemore, Brieanna S Langlie et al.•Vegetation History and…•2023

  • What can crop stable isotopes ever do for us? An experimental perspective on using cereal carbon stable isotope values for reconstructing water availability in semi-arid and arid environments

    Open Access•Pascal Flohr, Emma Jenkins et al.•Vegetation History and…•2019

  • Were prehistoric cereal fields in western Norway manured? Evidence from stable isotope values (δ15N) of charred modern and fossil cereals

    Open Access•Lene Synnøve Halvorsen, Pål Tore Mørkved et al.•Vegetation History and…•2023

  • Stable carbon isotope (δ13C) analysis of archaeobotanical remains from Bronze Age Kaymakçı (western Anatolia) to investigate crop management

    Open Access•Benjamin Irvine, Nami Shin et al.•Vegetation History and…•2023

  • Geographic and seasonal variation in δ13C values of C3 plant arabidopsis

    Open Access•Catherine G Cooper, Martha D Cooper et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2022

  • Crop management and agricultural responses at Early Bronze IV Tell Abu en-Ni'aj, Jordan

    Open Access•Steven Porson, Steven E Falconer et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2021

  • Δ 13 C values of wood and Charcoal Reveal Broad Isotopic ranges at the base of the Food Web

    Open Access•Bente Philippsen, Jesper Olsen et al.•Radiocarbon•2019

  • New Chronology for Megalithic Burials in Vidarbha (Central India)

    Open Access•Nikhil Patel, Preeti Trivedi et al.•Radiocarbon•2022

  • Baselines for δ 15 N values of cereals retrieved from archaeological excavations

    Open Access•C C Bakels, C Bakels•Archaeometry•2019

  • Stable isotopic evidence for land use patterns in the Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria

    Open Access•A Sołtysiak, Holger Schutkowski•American Journal of Physical…•2018

  • Urban form and scale shaped the agroecology of early ‘cities’ in northern Mesopotamia, the Aegean and Central Europe

    Open Access•Amy K Styring, Chris U Carmona et al.•Journal of Agrarian Change•2022

  • Modern wheat cultivation experiment in China

    Open Access•Xin Sun, Xue Shang et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Population expansion as a main driver for the shift of agricultural strategies through the Yangshao culture (6.8-4.7 ka BP) in the west Central Plain of China

    Open Access•Yibin Sun, Xingtao Wei et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2025

  • An Integrated Bioarchaeological Approach to the Medieval ‘Agricultural Revolution

    Open Access•Helena Hamerow, Amy Bogaard et al.•European Journal of Archaeology•2020

  • Home Economics at Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B al-Khayran in West-Central Jordan

    Matthew V Kroot•Journal of Field Archaeology•2024

  • Experimental archaeological study of foxtail and broomcorn millet

    Open Access•Huiyong Ouyang, Xue Shang et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2025

  • Bronze Age agropastoral management in central Cyprus and along the Jordan Rift

    Open Access•Patricia L Fall, Steven E Falconer et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2025

  • Manured or not manured? New baselines for re-interpreting cereal C and N stable isotope data from Neolithic sites in the NW Mediterranean

    Open Access•F Antolín, Guillem Salvador Baiges et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2025

  • Chapter 7. Mapping land use with integrated environmental archaeological datasets

    Open Access•J M Marston, Petra Vaiglova•Archeological Papers of the…•2024

  • Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)

    Open Access•Francesca Cortése, F De Angelis et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2022

  • Agricultural production in the 1st millennium BCE in Northwest Iberia

    Open Access•Adrián Mora-González, Andrés Teira-Brión et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2019

  • Millet cultivation strategies and changing agropastoral economies in ancient Chifeng, northeast China, 4000-1800 BP

    Open Access•Yufeng Sun, Xin Jia et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2025

  • Further insight into Neolithic agricultural management at Kouphovouno, southern Greece

    Open Access•Petra Vaiglova, Armelle Gardeisen et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2020

  • Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India

    Open Access•Shalini Sharma, Amish Kumar et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2024

  • Strontium and nitrogen isotopic evidence of food import to Tell Ashara-Terqa, a Bronze Age city on the Euphrates, Syria

    Open Access•A Sołtysiak•International Journal of…•2019

  • The agroecology of an early state

    Open Access•Charlotte Diffey, Reinder Neef et al.•Antiquity•2020

  • The archaeology and ethnoarchaeology of rain-fed cultivation in arid and hyper-arid North Africa

    Open Access•C Lancelotti, Stefano Biagetti et al.•Antiquity•2019

  • Water and soil management strategies and the introduction of wheat and barley to northern China

    Open Access•Haiming Li, Yufeng Sun et al.•Antiquity•2022

  • Accommodating agriculture at al-Khayran

    Open Access•Matthew V Kroot•Journal of Anthropological…•2024

  • Final Results of an Analysis of the Sheep and Goat Bones from Ain Ghazal, Jordan

    Alexander Wasse•Levant•2002

  • Two Oxen Ahead

    Open Access•P Halstead•Two Oxen Ahead•2014

  • Domestication of Plants in the Old World

    Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf et al.•Domestication of plants in the…•2012

  • Bad Year Economics

    Open Access•John M O'Shea, Paul Halstead et al.•Bad Year Economics•1989

  • The Anthropogenic Greenhouse Era Began Thousands of Years Ago

    Open Access•William F Ruddiman•Climatic Change•2003

  • A high-resolution data set of surface climate over global land areas

    Mark New, David Lister et al.•Climate Research•2002

  • Tansley Review No. 95 15 N natural abundance in soil‐plant systems

    Open Access•Peter Högberg•New Phytologist•1997

  • Isotopic values of plants in relation to water availability in the Eastern Mediterranean region

    Open Access•Gideon Hartman, Avinoam Danin•Oecologia•2010

  • The 15 N natural abundance (δ 15 N) of ecosystem samples reflects measures of water availability

    Open Access•Linda L Handley, Amy T Austin et al.•Australian Journal of Plant…•1999

  • Complexities of nitrogen isotope biogeochemistry in plant-soil systems

    Open Access•P Szpak•Frontiers in Plant Science•2014

  • The Eastern Mediterranean paleoclimate as a reflection of regional events

    Open Access•Miryam Bar-Matthews, Miryam Bar‐Matthews et al.•Earth and Planetary Science Letters•1999

  • Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Photosynthesis

    Graham D Farquhar, James R Ehleringer et al.•Annual Review of Plant Physiology…•1989

  • The 15N/14N ratios of plants in South Africa and Namibia

    Open Access•T H E Heaton•Oecologia•1987

  • Changes in carbon isotope discrimination in grain cereals from different regions of the western Mediterranean Basin during the past seven millennia. Palaeoenvironmental evidence of a differential change in aridity during the late Holocene

    Open Access•J L Araus, Anna Febrero et al.•Global Change Biology•1997

  • Late Quaternary Paleoclimate in the Eastern Mediterranean Region from Stable Isotope Analysis of Speleothems at Soreq Cave, Israel

    Open Access•Miryam Bar‐matthew, Miryam Bar-Matthews et al.•Quaternary Research•1997

  • The economy has a normal surplus

    Open Access•P Halstead•Bad Year Economics•1989

  • Stable Carbon Isotope Evidence for Neolithic and Bronze Age Crop Water Management in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia

    Open Access•Michael Wallace, Michael P Wallace et al.•PLoS ONE•2015

  • Global patterns of foliar nitrogen isotopes and their relationships with climate, mycorrhizal fungi, foliar nutrient concentrations, and nitrogen availability

    Open Access•Joseph M Craine, Andrew J Elmore et al.•New Phytologist•2009

  • Nitrogen balance and δ 15 N

    Open Access•Benjamin T Fuller, James L Fuller et al.•Rapid Communications in Mass…•2005

  • Desert Ecosystems

    Imanuel Noy-Meir, Imanuel Noy‐Meir•Annual Review of Ecology and…•1973

  • Crop manuring and intensive land management by Europe’s first farmers

    Open Access•Amy Bogaard, Rebecca Fraser et al.•Proceedings of the National…•2013

  • Fractionation of nitrogen isotopes by animals

    Open Access•K W Steele, Roy M Daniel•The Journal of Agricultural Science•1978

  • Farming regimes in Neolithic Europe

    Valasia Isaakidou•2011

  • Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability

    Open Access•Pascal Flohr, Gundula Müldner et al.•Water History•2011

  • Water management practices and climate in ancient agriculture

    Open Access•Juan Pedro Ferrio, J L Araus et al.•Vegetation History and…•2005

  • Combining functional weed ecology and crop stable isotope ratios to identify cultivation intensity

    Open Access•Amy Bogaard, John Hodgson et al.•Vegetation History and…•2015

  • Yield stability

    Open Access•Shahal Abbo, Simcha Lev-Yadun et al.•Vegetation History and…•2010

  • Manuring and stable nitrogen isotope ratios in cereals and pulses

    Open Access•Rebecca Fraser, Rebecca A Fraser et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2011

  • An integrated stable isotope study of plants and animals from Kouphovouno, southern Greece

    Open Access•Petra Vaiglova, Amy Bogaard et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2013

  • Searching for long-term trends in prehistoric manuring practice. δ15N analyses of charred cereal grains from the 4th to the 1st millennium BC

    Open Access•Marie Kanstrup, Mads Kähler Holst et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2013

  • The Emergence of Agriculture

    Tim Denham, Peter White et al.•Emergence of Agriculture•2020

  • Garden agriculture’ and the nature of early farming in Europe and the Near East

    Amy Bogaard•World Archaeology•2005

  • DNA evidence for multiple introductions of barley into Europe following dispersed domestications in Western Asia

    Open Access•G Jones, M P Charles et al.•Antiquity•2013

  • The Aftermath of the Levantine Neolithic Revolution in the Light of Ecological and Ethnographic Evidence

    I Köhler-Rollefson, Ilse Köhler‐rollefson•Paléorient•1988

  • Man's Role in the Shaping of the Eastern Mediterranean Landscape

    C Vita-Finzi, Claudio Vita‐finzi et al.•Geographical Journal•1992

  • Stable carbon isotope analysis as a direct means of inferring crop water status and water management practices

    Open Access•Michael Wallace, G Jones et al.•World Archaeology•2013

  • World Atlas of Desertification

    Norman Pye, N Middleton et al.•Geographical Journal•1994

  • The Prehistory of Jordan, II

    Steven A Rosen, Hans Georg K Gebel et al.•Journal of the American Oriental…•2000

  • Integrating botanical, faunal and human stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values to reconstruct land use and palaeodiet at LBK Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg

    Open Access•Rebecca Fraser, R A Fraser et al.•World Archaeology•2013

  • Cultivation of choice

    Open Access•Amy K Styring, Amy Styring et al.•Antiquity•2016

  • Water, soil and seasonality in early cereal cultivation

    Andrew Sherratt•World Archaeology•1980

  • The Origins of Agriculture

    T D Price, Ofer Bar‐yosef et al.•Current Anthropology•2011

Unique citing works58
Citations per year5,8
Citation span2016 - 2026 (11)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 57
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae