From Flocks to Fields: Pastoralism in Eastern al-Andalus During the 11th Century

The development of transhumant livestock farming in the Iberian Peninsula from the Late Middle Ages onward is one of the most thoroughly studied aspects of economic history, as it laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Kingdom of Castile throughout the Early Modern period. In contrast, there is very little information about livestock activity in the earlier period of al-Andalus, the part of the peninsula under Islamic rule from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries. This lack of information is due to epistemological reasons, as the absence of written sources makes archaeological data on pastoralism highly elusive. Additionally, historiographical reasons have led to the belief that livestock farming played a secondary role in the Andalusi economy. Given the current state of research, this work is significant as it presents convincing archaeological evidence of Andalusi livestock farming as early as the 11th century, linked to rural communities where sheep herding for wool production was the primary activity.