Rosie (Rosemary Rhiannon) Bishop
A Growing Success?: Investigating Cereal Crop Productivity in Prehistory
Hernes-CAS Fellow
Fellowship period
Spring 2027
About the research
How productive were ancient crops compared to today? Was prehistoric farming in more challenging environments and periods of climatic downturn less productive, and did these farmers develop risk management strategies to adapt where farming was less productive?
Rosie's research is building on the experiences she had at our Centre, examining agricultural productivity, adaptation and resilience in the archaeological record, focusing on data from Southern Scandinavia and Atlantic Scotland during the 4th to 1st millennium BC.
Examining ancient farming methods and their productivity, provides key information about the subsistence base and potential resilience of early farming practices in varying climatic conditions. The results of this work will provide a new level of insight into the productivity of prehistoric farming and time-depth for understanding food production and food security in relation to climate.
Hosting Institution
CAS Affiliation
Rosie Bishop led the CRG project Climate, Crops, and Crisis? Examining Agricultural Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in Prehistory in 2024/2025.