Bringing in the Sheaves
Economy and Metaphor in the Roman World
Published on 27. February 2013
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-1-4426-4479-3 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
'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 '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 '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 77:01:2015More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
4 maps; 98 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
920 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-4479-3 (9781442644793)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Brent D. Shaw is Andrew Fleming West Professor of Classics at Princeton University.
Content
List of Illustrations Preface/Introduction 1. Under the Burning Sun 2. Primus in Arvis / First in the Fields 3. Sickle & Scythe / Man & Machine 4. The Grim Reapers 5. Blade of Vengeance Appendix 1: Harvesting Contracts from Roman Egypt and Italy Appendix 2: The Maktar Harvester Inscription: Text and Commentary Appendix 3: The Gallo-Roman Reaping Machines: Iconographic Data Map 1.1: Africa of the Maktar Harvester Map 2.1: Roman Mactaris (Maktar) and Region Map 3.1: Northern Gaul: Heartland of the Reaping Machine Map 3.2: Distribution of Sickle and Scythe Finds in Late Prehistoric and Roman Gaul Table 1.1: Survey of Modern/Post World War II Land Use Patterns in the Maghrib Table 1.2: Pre-World War II Cereal Grain Production in the Maghrib Table 1.3: Survey of Modern/Post World War II Cereal Grain Production in the Maghrib Table 1.4: Pre World War I Indigenous Cereal Grain Production in Algeria Abbreviations of Sources Bibliography