Medieval Islamic archaeology in Jordan is relevant to the ‘Anthropocene’ discourse because of state investment in intensive land use, including irrigation and diversion of local agricultural economies from subsistence crops to cash crops. Archaeology offers a deep-time perspective on these issues. Previous archaeological and historical studies indicate that major centers of Medieval agriculture deteriorated at some point during the 15th century, in part because of state economic withdrawal and this impacted land use. In this paper, we use phytoliths to understand agricultural practices of Medieval Hisban (Mediterranean vegetation zone), Tawahin as-Sukkar, Khirbet as-Sheikh Isa, and Beidha (semi-arid region of the Jordan Valley) to offer new insights into state agricultural policies in relation to ecological and environmental history. Our results show control of irrigable land by subsistence farmers gave them resilience and contributed to sustainable farming. However, state-managed agricultural systems expropriated irrigable land, emphasizing production of cash crops for state revenue, thus reducing sustainability and putting pressure on the landscape. Sugarcane production replaced cereal cultivation and led to wood fuel burning, enhancing landscape erosion. Phytoliths from Beidha indicate that intensive agricultural production extended to marginal areas with the use of irrigation, thus creating greater human impact on sensitive environments.
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