New Approaches to the Materiality of Text in the Ancient Mediterranean
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Book Series
Archaeology of the Mediterranean World, vol. 6
- Pages: approx. 188 p.
- Size:156 x 234 mm
- Illustrations:23 b/w, 7 col., 27 tables b/w.
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2026
- € 80,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-62258-3
- Hardback
- Forthcoming (Sep/26)
- € 80,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-62259-0
- E-book
- Forthcoming
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Subject(s)
BIO
Taylor Zaneri is a medieval archaeologist specializing in GIS and zooarchaeology. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp.
Summary
This book examines rural producers as active agents in the economic and political transformations of medieval Lucca, Italy, between 1000 and 1300. It challenges traditional top-down narratives of state formation by foregrounding the choices and agency of non-elites. Rather than treating commercial growth, urban expansion, and regional integration as processes driven solely by urban authorities and elites, the study argues that these developments were made possible in part by a transformation of the rural economy and the choices of rural producers. It suggests that rural cultivators altered their agricultural and landscape choices to increase participation in commercial exchange, particularly with the city of Lucca. While these decisions were shaped by structural constraints, they would have involved the conscious participation of rural communities.
Archaeological in focus, the study employs GIS-based agricultural suitability modelling to analyze landscape use and settlement shifts in the hinterland of Lucca. The locations of more than 400 churches are used as a proxy for rural settlements. Over the analysis period, the results demonstrate increased agricultural specialization and the growing importance of commodities such as wine and olive oil, alongside shifts toward more commercially connected landscapes. This book argues that these changes were not merely imposed by urban authorities but reflected deliberate decisions by rural actors themselves, underscoring their role as integral participants in medieval socio-political change.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Living Landscapes: A Historical and Geographic Overview of Lucca
Chapter 3. Thinking Like a Producer: Productive Decisions in Social Contexts
Chapter 4. Documents and Details: Rural Production as Seen Through Texts
Chapter 5. GIS Methods: Modelling Agricultural Suitability
Chapter 6. From Models to People: Change and Choices: Results of GIS Analysis
Chapter 7. Material Matters: Connections and Networks in Medieval Lucca
Chapter 8. Conclusions
Works Cited
