Field system research reveals the human ingenuity behind food production systems adapted to diverse ecosystems. For instance, tropical adaptations include Asian rice paddies, Mesoamerican chinampas, and raised fields in South America. Each system provides a signature on the landscape. This can be illustrated by rice paddy fields which are made by leveling and walling to pond water, dramatically changing natural topography and soils. In contrast, responses to arid lands, limited by water and soil nutrients, are seen in an array of different technologies. For instance, abandoned grid-like landscape features in Arizona were found through an intensive multidisciplinary study to have produced agricultural crops in a desolate landscape. Cultural and environmental contexts are therefore essential components of field system research.
Additional lines of evidence may be found in art, historic documents, and modern correlates. Egyptian
Farming methods are recorded in art and hieroglyphs (e. g., collections of the British Museum). The Romans employed centurion field systems and recorded field allocations. Experimental farming with replica tools and old crops provide heuristic models to reconstruct annual yields, labor requirements, and soil responses to different treatments (e. g., the experimental Butser Ancient Farm, United Kingdom). Ethno-archaeological studies with nonindustrial farmers provide further data for reconstructing crop rotation cycles, labor allocation, and natural constraints on farming.
Research methods for off-site agricultural landscapes reflect analytical scale, environmental conditions, field architecture, and palaeosol preservation. Ground reconnaissance to verify published data in maps and aerial images provides a baseline for regional studies and also detailed assessments of individual fields. Field system research is multidisciplinary and often requires specialist research methods to provide evidence for specific cultivation practices.
World History
