Dating Agricultural Terraces in the Mediterranean Using Luminescence: Recent Progress and Challenges

Agricultural terraces provide farmers in hilly landscapes with effective ways to increase the area available for crops. They mitigate risks of soil erosion and promote crop productivity by slowing surface water runoff retaining moisture. As other parts world, have been constructed used Mediterranean millennia. The availability terraced agriculture had important socio-economic, ecological, environmental implications past societies. However, chronology construction, use, abandonment different regions remains uncertain. A more robust set chronological data will allow better assessment whether terrace was a resilient strategy face economic or ecological instability and, turn, inform how could be address future agricultural challenges. In this paper, we review application luminescence dating sediments, key challenges involved, currently published which include over 250 ages. We also discuss use multidisciplinary approach involving geoarchaeological tools (e.g., GIS analyses, field-based readers, micromorphology) enhance that systems can understood. Terrace are inextricably linked sustainable land across Mediterranean. Luminescence methods, therefore, crucial role play understanding complexities landscape change.