The study provides insights into the resilience and ingenuity of ancient agricultural systems, emphasizing the dynamic interplay between environmental challenges and human innovation. By analyzing archaeological evidence and historical records, the researchers reconstructed past crop repertoires, shedding light on how communities diversified their agriculture to ensure food security amidst changing conditions.
This research enhances our understanding of historical agricultural practices and offers valuable lessons for modern agriculture. As contemporary societies face greater climate variability and socioeconomic uncertainties, the adaptive strategies of the past may inform sustainable agricultural practices and policies today.
"Recent drying-up processes and increased risk of prolonged heatwaves and subsequent droughts are challenging our socio-political resilience, and demand a rethinking of global food production strategies. Reconsidering drought tolerant species, therefore, can help mitigate the long-term effects of current global warming," says environmental scientist Dr. Michael Kempf.
"It is due to the Little Ice Age that the staple foods such as rye bread and buckwheat porridge came to dominate the cuisine of northeastern Europeans. Warming climates might lead us back to forgotten millet crops," says Prof. Motuzaite Matuzeviciute.
Situated at the intersection of different climatic zones, northeastern Europe represents a marginal agricultural region where buffer crops play a crucial role in ensuring food security amidst shifting environmental conditions.
"Natural conditions, agriculture, and gastronomic culture have always been closely interconnected. Gastronomic culture is more inert, meaning that environmental changes first affected agriculture and only later became apparent in the kitchen. Therefore, studying these processes is essential for understanding both past and contemporary societies." noted Prof. Rimvydas Laužikas.
The historical records indicate a southward shift of millet agriculture during the onset of the Little Ice Age. The Vilnius University PhD candidate Meiirzhan Abdrakhmanov concludes that "this study emphasizes the dynamic nature of agricultural adaptation and underscores the resilience of past communities in responding to climatic
For more details, see the full study: "The Shifting of Buffer Crop Repertoires in Pre-Industrial North-Eastern Europe" at Nature Scientific Reports .
This research was funded by the European Union with a Consolidator Grant awarded to Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute (ERC-CoG, MILWAYS, 101087964)
