title: Economic and social activities on ancient Cypriot terraced landscapes.
abstract: We investigate ancient agricultural terraces and their associated social and economic activities across the site complex consisting of the village at Politiko-Troullia and its more extensive associated taskscape. Surface artifact distributions mapped over 12 ha are integrated with evidence excavated from this Bronze Age settlement in central Cyprus. Contrary to expectations, artifact densities do not diminish with distance from the village architecture. In particular, concentrations of Prehistoric Bronze Age ceramics and ground stone artifacts are most pronounced on nearby terraced hillsides. These terraces were not utilized for domestic structures, but for extensive processing of agricultural crops and copper ore. Bronze Age excavated plant remains indicate cultivation of olives, grapes and figs, with wood resources dominated by olive and pine. Larger, non-portable ground stones and gaming stones are associated with communal social and economic activities in open courtyard settings in Politiko-Troullia. This category of ground stone also is particularly common on the terraced hillsides around Troullia, suggesting that similar behaviors occurred beyond village structures. The terraced landscape of Politiko-Troullia exemplifies a multi-faceted taskscape with a range of agricultural, metallurgical and social activities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Liberal Studies, California State University, San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096, USA. Electronic address: eridder@csusm.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ridder
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, 6017 Fairchild Hall, Hanover, NH 03755-3571, USA. Electronic address: christopher.s.galletti@dartmouth.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Galletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography & Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. Electronic address: pfall@uncc.edu.
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Fall
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. Electronic address: sfalcon1@uncc.edu.
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Falconer
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D001106:Archaeology; D002516:Ceramics; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D003535:Cyprus; D004777:Environment; D049690:History, Ancient
keywords: Bronze Age; Cyprus; Landscape archaeology; Managed environment; Taskscape; Terraced landscapes