Irrigation System List
A viewset for viewing and editing Irrigation Systems.
GET /api/sc/irrigation-systems/?format=api&page=8
{ "count": 468, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/irrigation-systems/?format=api&page=9", "previous": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/irrigation-systems/?format=api&page=7", "results": [ { "id": 351, "polity": { "id": 627, "name": "in_pandya_emp_3", "long_name": "Pandya Empire", "start_year": 1216, "end_year": 1323 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “Inscriptions reveal that irrigated agriculture grew steadily during the medieval dynasties of Madurai Pandya and Chola kings (c. 750 to 1300). Tanks multiplied, and by the thirteenth century there were thirty recorded nadus (agrarian territories) in Tirunelveli, many relying on tanks for irrigation. Meanwhile, in the western Tambraparni River valley and similar up-river tracts, dams were built to push water out of rivers to irrigate paddy fields. These dams fed relatively short systems of channels and watered directly, for the most part. Most dams, if not all, were temporary. Built on rock foundations, they required reconstruction after each flood season, a design that remains in use today. Fields were irrigated from channels leading from dams; fields drained one into the other down terraced slopes, and emptied back into the river. With such dam-and-channel systems, the up-river tracts became highly productive, but the Tambraparni region near Ambasamudram was the locus of the most dramatic agricultural and political development under the medieval dynasties.” §REF§ (Ludden 1979, 354) Ludden, David. 1979. ‘Patronage and Irrigation in Tamil Nadu: A Long-term View’. The Indian Economic & Social History Review. Vol 16: 3. Pp. 347-365. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/G7TWCIIW/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 352, "polity": { "id": 628, "name": "sl_dambadeniya", "long_name": "Dambadaneiya", "start_year": 1232, "end_year": 1293 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"Until the 13th century AD the economy of the dry zone depended on the system of irrigation developed by the past kings. Although the seat of administration shifted to the South-west with the establishment of the Dambadeniya kingdom economic conditions of the county did not undergo a radical change.\"" }, { "id": 353, "polity": { "id": 629, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_4", "long_name": "Anurādhapura IV", "start_year": 614, "end_year": 1017 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “By the tenth century there was a vast array of irrigation works spread over a substantial part of the dry zone of the country. The monumental scale of the large tanks is positive evidence of a prosperous economy and a well-organised state which had so great an agricultural surplus to invest in these projects as well as on religious and public buildings designed on a lavish scale. By itself the irrigation network of ancient Sri Lanka was a tribute to the ingenuity of her engineers and craftsmen, and the organisational skills of her rulers. […] Proximity to the Mahaväli, the longest river in Sri Lanka, increased the economic potential of this region. Mahāsena had built the famous Minneriya tank there, and between the fourth and ninth centuries a number of smaller tanks in the region would have helped sustain a considerable population producing a substantial agricultural surplus. The economic importance of the region was further enhanced by the development of commercial relations with China and South-East Asia, in which the port of Gokonna (modern Trincomalee) would have played a prominent part. Thus the adoption of Polonnaruva as the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom by four kings of the period between the seventh and tenth centuries, and the final abandonment of Anurādhapura in its favour, were determined as much by considerations of economic advantage as by strategic and military factors. §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 31) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§ " }, { "id": 354, "polity": { "id": 630, "name": "sl_polonnaruva", "long_name": "Polonnaruwa", "start_year": 1070, "end_year": 1255 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The Polonnaruva kings were the heirs to several centuries of experience in irrigation technology. But they themselves—and especially Parākramabāhu I—made a distinctive contribution of their own in honing these techniques to cope with the special requirements of the immense irrigation projects constructed at this time. There was, for instance, the colossal size of the Parākrama Samudra (the sea of Parākrama) which, with an embankment rising to an average height of 40 feet and stretching over its entire length of 8 miles, was by far the largest irrigation tank constructed in ancient Sri Lanka…Refinement of irrigation technology, was demonstrated also in the three weirs built across the Däduru-Oya, the only river in the western part of the dry zone to provide anything like a perennial supply of water.” §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 68) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 355, "polity": { "id": 631, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_3", "long_name": "Anurādhapura III", "start_year": 428, "end_year": 614 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The reign of Dhātusena (455-73) matched, if it did not surpass the achievements of Mahāsena and Vasabha in the extension of the island’s irrigation network. He is said to have added t the irrigation works in the Mahaväli region by building a dam across that river. But the main focus of attention in irrigation activity during his reign seems to have been the development of water resources in the western part of the dry zone. By far the most impressive achievement by this period is the construction of Kalāväva, which trapped the Kalā-Oya and helped to supplement the supply of water to Anurādhapura and the area round the city. […] By the end of the fifth century two major irrigation complexes had been developed, one based on the Mahaväli and its tributaries, and the other on the Malvatu-Oya and Kalā-Oya. These were elaborated further in subsequent centuries. The two cities Anurādhapura and Polonnaruva located here were vital centres of cultural activity and these contained the most impressive monuments of Sinhalese civilization. Anurādhapura was much larger of the two, and necessarily so, for during the first ten centuries of the Christian era it was, with brief interludes, the capital of the island.” §REF§ (De Silva1981, 30--31) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§ " }, { "id": 356, "polity": { "id": 632, "name": "nl_dutch_emp_1", "long_name": "Dutch Empire", "start_year": 1648, "end_year": 1795 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"The arrival of the Dutch represented an absolute revolution for the local [Taiwanese] population. Besides several new crops such as sugar and indigo, the Dutch also introduced oxen to the island, using the animals mainly for transport and land clearance. The construction of irrigation works was stimulated by exemptions from taxation, and deer hunting was optimised by the sale of exclusive trading rights to the Taiwanese villages. All these interventions had considerable ecological consequences: in 1638, for example, no fewer than 151,400 deer were killed! Nonetheless, these effects should also not be exaggerated, because this was still a relatively small area in the south-west of the island.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 363) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ Also in 18th-century Sri Lanka: \"The construction of irrigation and drainage works and canals improved the infrastructure, made cinnamon production more self-sufficient, and gave a strong impetus to the cultivation of rice and other crops such as areca, pepper, coffee and cardamom.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 294) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 357, "polity": { "id": 633, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_1", "long_name": "Anurādhapura I", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 70 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": "“The earliest projects were no doubt directed more at conserving than at diverting water on any large scale. But by the first century AD, large-scale irrigation works were being built. The construction of tanks, canals and channels which this involved exhibited an amazing knowledge of trigonometry, and the design of the tanks a thorough grasp of hydraulic principles. The tanks had broad bases which could withstand heavy pressures, and at suitable points in the embankment there were outlets for the discharge of water. The Sinhalese were the ‘first inventors of the valve pit’ (bisokotuva), counterpart of the sluice which regulated the flow of water from a modern reservoir or tank. The engineers of the third century BC or earlier who invented it had done their work with a sophistication and mastery that enabled their successors of later centuries merely to copy the original device with only minor adaptations or changes, if any.”§REF§ (De Silva, 1981, 28). De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§ “The first mentions of large‐scale tanks date to the fifth and fourth centuries BCE and such references peak in the second century CE, paralleling the (peri)urban and religious development of Anuradhapura and its hinterland.” §REF§ (Abeywardana 2019,99) Abeywardana, Nuwan et al. 2019. ‘Evolution of the dry zone water harvesting and management systems in Sri Lanka during the Anuradhapura Kingdom; a study based on ancient chronicles and lithic inscriptions.’ Water History. Vol 11. Pp. 75–103. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GE82D6DI/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 358, "polity": { "id": 635, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_2", "long_name": "Anurādhapura II", "start_year": 70, "end_year": 428 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The earliest projects were no doubt directed more at conserving than at diverting water on any large scale. But by the first century AD, large-scale irrigation works were being built. The construction of tanks, canals and channels which this involved exhibited an amazing knowledge of trigonometry, and the design of the tanks a thorough grasp of hydraulic principles. The tanks had broad bases which could withstand heavy pressures, and at suitable points in the embankment there were outlets for the discharge of water. The Sinhalese were the ‘first inventors of the valve pit’ (bisokotuva), counterpart of the sluice which regulated the flow of water from a modern reservoir or tank. The engineers of the third century BC or earlier who invented it had done their work with a sophistication and mastery that enabled their successors of later centuries merely to copy the original device with only minor adaptations or changes, if any. […] During the reign of Mahāsena (227-301 AD), the Älahära canal became the main source of water supply for the Minneriya tanks which he built, and which was by far the largest tank up to that time. Mahāsena is credited with the construction of sixteen tanks and canals, four of which are in the Anurādhapura area, and one in the Puttalam district. Three notable trends in the development of irrigation facilities during his reign were: a resolute endeavour to harness the waters of the Mahaväli and the Ambangaṅga, the most important project being the massive Minneriya tank; the improvement of facilities for water conservation in the north-western part of the island; and the attempt to develop the south-western part of the dry zone on the periphery of the wet zone. Together they accelerated agricultural development in the vicinity of Anurādhapura, and opened up new areas for cultivation in the east and southwest. All the major irrigation projects initiated by him were achieved by a prodigious investment of labour resources on an unprecedented scale, and they reflect, too, a notable advance in irrigation technology in the island.” §REF§ (De Silva, 1981, 28, 29). De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 359, "polity": { "id": 636, "name": "et_jimma_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma", "start_year": 1790, "end_year": 1932 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “Individual farmers sometimes take advantage of nearby streams to dig irrigation ditches, and in some hilly regions there is gullying and work on drainage, but this sort of work is done by groups of no more than four to five men.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 52) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 360, "polity": { "id": 639, "name": "so_ajuran_sultanate", "long_name": "Ajuran Sultanate", "start_year": 1250, "end_year": 1700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “In the 15th century, the Ajuran became increasingly authoritarian and oppressive. Their subjects were forced to dig kelis (canals) for irrigation, and bakars (storage pits) for cereals that were collected in tribute.” §REF§ (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Ajuran Sultanate.’ In J.Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5U3NQRMR/library §REF§ " }, { "id": 361, "polity": { "id": 687, "name": "Early Niynginya", "long_name": "Kingdom of Nyinginya", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"At an unknown date, but well before the end of the century, farmers also began to practice irrigation here and there, notably along the upper and middle Nyabarongo in Budaha and Ndiza, as well as north of Lake Muhazi. The beginnings of the earthworks found around 1900 in the whole northwest of present-day Rwanda also probably date to the nineteenth century.\" §REF§(Vansina 2004: 128) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264§REF§" }, { "id": 362, "polity": { "id": 698, "name": "in_cholas_1", "long_name": "Early Cholas", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “At Vanagiri, there are remains of an artificial channel that drew water from the Kaveri into a reservoir for irrigation purposes, probably built in the early centuries CE.” §REF§ (Singh 2008, 402) Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. London: Pearson Education. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UJG2G6MJ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 363, "polity": { "id": 699, "name": "in_thanjavur_maratha_k", "long_name": "Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom", "start_year": 1675, "end_year": 1799 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “After settling down at Thanjavur, Venkoji devoted his entire attention towards improvement of agriculture and the economic condition of his subjects by providing irrigation facilities, digging and widening of channels and constructing new tanks to obtain better yields.” §REF§ (Bhosle, 2017) Bhosle, Prince Pratap Sinh Serfoji Raje. 2017. Contributions of Thanjavur Maratha Kings. Second edition. Chennai: Notion Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/A9ABDVKX/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 364, "polity": { "id": 700, "name": "in_pandya_emp_1", "long_name": "Early Pandyas", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “Sangam texts refer to ulavar or toluvar as the tillers of menpulam. They knew the technique of harnessing the bullocks (erutu) at their necks with a cross-bar (nukam) to ploughshare (meli or nanjil) which was iron-tipped for furrowing buffaloes (erumai) were also used for ploughing. Tank irrigation (ayam) and minor dam (sirai) irrigation are mentioned.” §REF§ (Agnihotri 1988, 357) Agnihotri, V.K. 1988. Indian History. New Delhi: Allied Publishers Pvt. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/PNX9XBJQ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 365, "polity": { "id": 702, "name": "in_pallava_emp_2", "long_name": "Late Pallava Empire", "start_year": 300, "end_year": 890 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The Pallavan tanks and wells, several of which function even today, were the lifeline of the Pallavan villages. The village population was almost wholly dependent of them for irrigation. The rainwater, which increased the stored volume of water in these devices, made tanks and wells crucial when it came to irrigating agricultural fields during the long dry spells experienced by these regions.” §REF§ (Saghar 2015, 5) Saghar, Amol. 2015. ‘Irrigation Under the Pallavas’ Social Scientist. Vol. 43:5/6. Pp 3-10. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/ZHNKD5GI/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 366, "polity": { "id": 705, "name": "in_madurai_nayaks", "long_name": "Nayaks of Madurai", "start_year": 1529, "end_year": 1736 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote suggests that irrigations systems might have been present during this period due to the presence of various water tanks around the temple complex of Pudu Mandapa. “Water may have been supplied by either the small octagonal tank that lies between the Pudu Mandapa and the Raya Gopura that is called the Vasanta Tank on Francis’ 1906 plan of the temple, or from the Elukakalkkulam (‘Seven Seas Tank’). This festival tank (teppakkulam) was built according to an inscription in c. 1516/7 as the gift of the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya and was located about one hundred metres east of the Raya Gopura through it is now built over.” §REF§ (Branfoot 2001, 198) Branfoot, Crispin. 2001. ‘Tirumala Nayaka’s ‘New Hall’ and the European Study of the South Indian Temple. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol 11:2. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FE5VZ76M/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 367, "polity": { "id": 612, "name": "ni_nok_1", "long_name": "Middle and Late Nok", "start_year": -1500, "end_year": -901 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"There are [...] no signs of communal construction activities, and no preserved facilities to store agricultural surplus. [...] It has to be considered that the preservation of features in Nok sites is generally poor and that the amount of data is not too large and regionally restricted to a rather small key study area.\"§REF§(Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 253) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.§REF§" }, { "id": 368, "polity": { "id": 613, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_yellow_5", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Yellow I", "start_year": 100, "end_year": 500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following suggests that the only identified buildings were houses, and that houses fulfilled multiple purposes (\"economically generalized”). ”The community [of Kirikongo] was founded by a single house (Mound 4) c. ad 100 (Yellow I), as part of a regional expansion of farming peoples in small homesteads in western Burkina Faso. A true village emerged with the establishment of a second house (Mound 1) c. ad 450, and by the end of the first millennium ad the community had expanded to six houses. At first, these were economically generalized houses (potting, iron metallurgy, farming and herding) settled distantly apart with direct access to farming land that appear to have exercised some autonomy.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2015: 21-22)§REF§" }, { "id": 369, "polity": { "id": 615, "name": "ni_nok_2", "long_name": "Middle and Late Nok", "start_year": -900, "end_year": 0 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"There are [...] no signs of communal construction activities, and no preserved facilities to store agricultural surplus. [...] It has to be considered that the preservation of features in Nok sites is generally poor and that the amount of data is not too large and regionally restricted to a rather small key study area.\"§REF§(Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 253) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.§REF§" }, { "id": 370, "polity": { "id": 617, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_2", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red II and III", "start_year": 1100, "end_year": 1400 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 31)§REF§" }, { "id": 371, "polity": { "id": 618, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_4", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red IV", "start_year": 1401, "end_year": 1500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Inferred from the following, which pertains to the immediately preceding period. \"The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 31)§REF§" }, { "id": 372, "polity": { "id": 619, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_1", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red I", "start_year": 701, "end_year": 1100 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 31)§REF§" }, { "id": 373, "polity": { "id": 624, "name": "zi_great_zimbabwe", "long_name": "Great Zimbabwe", "start_year": 1270, "end_year": 1550 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " While not specifically referring to Great Zimbabwe, Pikirayi seems to rule out the idea of any polity-managed irrigation system within the traditional and historic societies of the region. “There is no evidence to suggest that precolonial societies, particularly major states in Zambezia, required large-scale irrigation works to manage their arid to semi-arid environments, such as those found in Asian and Central American civilisations.” §REF§ (Pikirayi , 149) Innocent Pikirayi, “Water and Large-Scale Societies in Southern Zambezia, 900-1900 CE,” in Water and Society from Ancient Times to the Present (London: Routledge, 2018): 136-154. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/VP8NIACW/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 374, "polity": { "id": 626, "name": "zi_mutapa", "long_name": "Mutapa", "start_year": 1450, "end_year": 1880 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " While not specifically referring to Mutapa, Pikirayi seems to rule out the idea of any polity-managed irrigation system within the traditional and historic societies of the region. “There is no evidence to suggest that precolonial societies, particularly major states in Zambezia, required large-scale irrigation works to manage their arid to semi-arid environments, such as those found in Asian and Central American civilisations.” §REF§ (Pikirayi , 149) Innocent Pikirayi, “Water and Large-Scale Societies in Southern Zambezia, 900-1900 CE,” in Water and Society from Ancient Times to the Present (London: Routledge, 2018): 136-154. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/VP8NIACW/item-details §REF§" }, { "id": 375, "polity": { "id": 614, "name": "cd_kanem", "long_name": "Kanem", "start_year": 800, "end_year": 1379 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " The near-absence of archaeologically identified settlements makes it particularly challenging to infer most building types. \"While the historical sources provide a vague picture of the events of the first 500 years of the Kanem-Borno empire, archaeologically almost nothing is known. [...] Summing up, very little is known about the capitals or towns of the early Kanem- Borno empire. The locations of the earliest sites have been obscured under the southwardly protruding sands of the Sahara, and none of the later locations can be identified with certainty.\"§REF§(Gronenborn 2002: 104-110)§REF§" }, { "id": 376, "polity": { "id": 663, "name": "ni_oyo_emp_1", "long_name": "Oyo", "start_year": 1300, "end_year": 1535 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " \"Contexts that could shed light on the dynamics of social structure and hierarchies in the metropolis, such as the royal burial site of Oyo monarchs and the residences of the elite population, have not been investigated. The mapping of the palace structures has not been followed by systematic excavations (Soper, 1992); and questions of the economy, military system, and ideology of the empire have not been addressed archaeologically, although their general patterns are known from historical studies (e.g, Johnson, 1921; Law, 1977).\"§REF§(Ogundiran 2005: 151-152)§REF§ Regarding this period, however, one of the historical studies mentioned in this quote also notes: \"Of the earliestperiod of Oyo history, before the sixteenth century, very little is known.\"§REF§(Law 1977: 33)§REF§ Law does not then go on to provide specific information directly relevant to this variable." }, { "id": 377, "polity": { "id": 570, "name": "es_spanish_emp_2", "long_name": "Spanish Empire II", "start_year": 1716, "end_year": 1814 }, "year_from": 1716, "year_to": 1814, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": "“In order to increase peasant landownership, the government attacked the Mesta and large landowners, and reforestation plans and irrigation schemes inevitably overruled traditional uses of Spain’s natural resources at the local level.”<ref>(Philips and Philips 2010: 190) Philips, William D. and Carla Rahn Philips. 2010. A Concise History of Spain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZT84ZFTP</ref>" }, { "id": 378, "polity": { "id": 569, "name": "mx_mexico_1", "long_name": "Early United Mexican States", "start_year": 1810, "end_year": 1920 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “By 1910, Mexico possessed 20,000 km [of railroad] (Garner (1995) 341). Foreign funds played a major role, but the passage of the 1883 land law was crucial, since it allowed for the expropriation of private property for public works, including railroads, roads, canals, rechanneling of rivers, dikes and related facilities (Van Hoy (2008) 15). The completion of other major lines followed, especially to the northern border with the United States and in the south along the difficult Isthmus of Tehuantepec.”" }, { "id": 379, "polity": { "id": 575, "name": "us_united_states_of_america_reconstruction", "long_name": "Us Reconstruction-Progressive", "start_year": 1866, "end_year": 1933 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation systems were used throughout the US since the preceding period.§REF§Volo and Volo 2004: 27. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.§REF§" }, { "id": 380, "polity": { "id": 560, "name": "bo_tiwanaku_2", "long_name": "Late Tiwanaku", "start_year": 800, "end_year": 1149 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “At its peak, Tiwanaku held power over a large part of present-day eastern and southern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, northern Chile, and southern Peru. Its influence was largely due to its impressive “raised-field system” of agriculture, which used elevated planting beds separated from each other by small irrigation canals. The canals were designed to keep the crops from freezing on cold nights by preserving the heat from the daytime sun and for growing algae and aquatic plants used as fertilizer.”§REF§(Middleton 2015: 947) Middleton, John. 2015. World Monarchies and Dynasties. Volume 1-3, A-Z. London: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7N3PNVCB§REF§ “One of the most remarkable characteristics of the lower Terrace Zone (TZ) is water availability. Water collection pockets, located much higher in the mountains, provide water year round, making it possible to irrigate the fields. There are numerous main that run through the lower terraces, suggesting that these broad surfaces may have been irrigated in the past.”§REF§(Albarracin-Jordan 1999: 67) Albarracin-Jordan, Juan V. 1999. The Archeaology of Tiwanaku: The Myths, History, and Science of an Ancient Andean Civilization. Bolivia: Impresión P.A.P. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P7MDWPAP§REF§" }, { "id": 381, "polity": { "id": 576, "name": "us_chaco_bonito_3", "long_name": "Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase", "start_year": 1101, "end_year": 1140 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “Because the Chacoans were skilled builders, Gordon Vivian was sure that they must have had some way of collecting and distributing this water. He soon found evidence of an efficient irrigation system. Later, Gwinn expanded on his father's work. The Chacoan irrigation system depended on dams and canals. After a rainstorm a dam at the mouth of each side canyon collected the water that fell from the cliff top. The water was then channeled into a stone-lined canal, which emptied into a head gate with narrow openings that could be blocked or left open to control the water's flow into ditches. The ditches led to large plots of many individual gardens. In the summer of 1967, Gwinn Vivian excavated a dam that had been built across one of the main side canyons. It was a massive structure more than 120 feet long and 7 feet high. The water emptied into a canal through a gate near the middle of the dam. The long, curving, masonry-lined canal directed the water to 24 acres of bordered gardens that were laid out in neat rectangles. Gwinn Vivian calculated that a summer thunderstorm that produced 1 1/4 inches of rain in an hour would have provided the Penasco Blanco gardens with 540,000 gallons of water—half a gallon per square foot. The Chacoan genius for building and engineering allowed a large number of people to live in that otherwise dry and rugged canyon.”§REF§(Gwinn and Anderson 2002: 30) Gwinn Vivian, R. and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW§REF§" }, { "id": 382, "polity": { "id": 563, "name": "us_antebellum", "long_name": "Antebellum US", "start_year": 1776, "end_year": 1865 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation systems were used throughout the US. The Mormons who settled in Utah built a city with a full irrigation system in two years in 1850.§REF§Volo and Volo 2004: 27. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.§REF§" }, { "id": 383, "polity": { "id": 591, "name": "gt_tikal_late_classic", "long_name": "Late Classic Tikal", "start_year": 555, "end_year": 869 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “Tikal is located in the Petén district, Guatemala, on top of an escarpment (250 m asl) surrounded by swampy areas to the west and east, earthworks to the north and south ( Jones et al. 1981), and large tracts of fertile land (Fedick and Ford 1990).1 It is one of the best-known and largest Maya centers (Figure 6.1). Since it is not near lakes or rivers, its inhabitants relied on several complex reservoir systems to offset seasonal water shortages (Scarborough and Gallopin 1991), which are found next to temples and royal palaces.”§REF§(Lucero 2006: 162) Lucero, Lisa J. 2006. Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NSX2SNWU§REF§" }, { "id": 384, "polity": { "id": 295, "name": "tm_khwarezmid_emp", "long_name": "Khwarezmid Empire", "start_year": 1157, "end_year": 1231 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The famous traveller and geographer, Yaqut, wrote that Khwarazm infrastructure was prosperous and had canals and irrigation works.§REF§Boyle 1968: 142. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/CFW8EE6Q§REF§ Large areas of pasture were irrigated by channelling water from the canal, which was navigable.§REF§Buniyatov 2015: 85. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SAEVEJFH§REF§" }, { "id": 385, "polity": { "id": 561, "name": "us_hohokam_culture", "long_name": "Hohokam Culture", "start_year": 300, "end_year": 1500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The Hohokam built extensive canal works and irrigation systems along the Salt and Gila rivers.§REF§“Hohokam Culture (U.S. National Park Service)”. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/34YMDDCN§REF§" }, { "id": 386, "polity": { "id": 578, "name": "mo_alawi_dyn_1", "long_name": "Alaouite Dynasty I", "start_year": 1631, "end_year": 1727 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " At the palace at Meknes: “In the centre ran running water. Each animal had its stall and a shelter for its equipment. Opposite was a storehouse, the heri which supported a supplementary palace with twenty pavilions. Between the palace and the stables was the granary, forty feet high and big enough, it was said, to contain the whole harvest of Morocco. At the side was a pond for irrigation purposes and also subterranean reserves of water in case of a siege.”§REF§(Bosworth 2007: 399) Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. 2007. ed., Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden; Boston: Brill. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/HGHDXVAC§REF§" }, { "id": 387, "polity": { "id": 565, "name": "at_habsburg_1", "long_name": "Austria - Habsburg Dynasty I", "start_year": 1454, "end_year": 1648 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation systems were present across the empire. §REF§(Curtis 2013: 121) Curtis, Benjamin. 2013. The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty. London; New York: Bloomsbury. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TRKUBP92§REF§" }, { "id": 388, "polity": { "id": 351, "name": "am_artaxiad_dyn", "long_name": "Armenian Kingdom", "start_year": -188, "end_year": 6 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " There were irrigation networks across the region which were largely built and maintained by the enslaved population.§REF§Payaslian 2007: 15-16. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H8NEU6KD§REF§" }, { "id": 389, "polity": { "id": 573, "name": "ru_golden_horde", "long_name": "Golden Horde", "start_year": 1240, "end_year": 1440 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Remains have been found of irrigation canals in sites near rivers, and canals directed water to irrigate fields.§REF§Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 545, 645, 653. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8§REF§" }, { "id": 390, "polity": { "id": 360, "name": "ir_saffarid_emp", "long_name": "Saffarid Caliphate", "start_year": 861, "end_year": 1003 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Canals flowed into cities, such as at Nishapur, where they were used to water the gardens below the city.§REF§Bosworth 2007: 423. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGHDXVAC §REF§" }, { "id": 391, "polity": { "id": 587, "name": "gb_british_emp_1", "long_name": "British Empire I", "start_year": 1690, "end_year": 1849 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation was already present in England and was developed throughout the Empire.§REF§( Porter 1999: 351) Porter, Andrew, ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century, vol. 3, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GTF9V4CG§REF§" }, { "id": 392, "polity": { "id": 21, "name": "us_hawaii_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Hawaii - Post-Kamehameha Period", "start_year": 1820, "end_year": 1898 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “In field practice, the greatest forward step was the introduction of irrigation. Periods of drouth had been one of the un- predictable hazards of the business and in some years had caused serious losses. The first extensive use of irrigation was on the Lihue plantation on Kauai, where a ditch about ten miles long, with tunnels included, was dug in 1856 under the supervision of William H. Rice, manager of the plantation. In succeeding years, the ditch was lengthened, and the supply of water thus obtained saved the plantation from failure. A visitor to Maui in the spring of 1863 observed ditches ‘cut along the foot of the hills, for conveying the waters of the mountain streams’ to the sugar plantations in the vicinity of Wailuku. In 1866, a ‘broad and deep ditch, four miles long’ was dug to bring water onto the Waihee (or Lewers) plantation in the same district. Manager of this plantation was Samuel T. Alexander who, at a later time, with Henry P. Baldwin constructed the much greater Hamakua ditch on the same island. References to irrigation are not numerous, but it is evident that the practice was adopted on other plantations§REF§(Kuykendall 1938: 144) Kuykendall, Ralph Simpson. 1938. The Hawaiian Kingdom. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. http://archive.org/details/hawaiiankingdom0002kuyk. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QJ4Z7AAB§REF§" }, { "id": 393, "polity": { "id": 566, "name": "fr_france_napoleonic", "long_name": "Napoleonic France", "start_year": 1816, "end_year": 1870 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation systems were used across France.§REF§Clapham 1955: 7, 185. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/2QKQJQM3.§REF§" }, { "id": 394, "polity": { "id": 567, "name": "at_habsburg_2", "long_name": "Austria - Habsburg Dynasty II", "start_year": 1649, "end_year": 1918 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": "" }, { "id": 395, "polity": { "id": 280, "name": "hu_hun_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of the Huns", "start_year": 376, "end_year": 469 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The Hunnites were nomadic pastoralists and so would not have set up permanent water supply systems." }, { "id": 396, "polity": { "id": 797, "name": "de_empire_1", "long_name": "Holy Roman Empire - Ottonian-Salian Dynasty", "start_year": 919, "end_year": 1125 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "Although there were irrigation systems in some parts of Muslim occupied Europe such as Valencia and Sicily, there is no discussion of irrigation in the HRE in the sources consulted. §REF§Power 2006: 8. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK§REF§" }, { "id": 397, "polity": { "id": 579, "name": "gb_england_plantagenet", "long_name": "Plantagenet England", "start_year": 1154, "end_year": 1485 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 398, "polity": { "id": 305, "name": "it_lombard_k", "long_name": "Lombard Kingdom", "start_year": 568, "end_year": 774 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation systems have not been mentioned in the sources consulted" }, { "id": 399, "polity": { "id": 302, "name": "gb_tudor_stuart", "long_name": "England Tudor-Stuart", "start_year": 1486, "end_year": 1689 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " There has been no discussion of irrigation systems in the sources consulted." }, { "id": 400, "polity": { "id": 786, "name": "gb_british_emp_2", "long_name": "British Empire II", "start_year": 1850, "end_year": 1968 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Irrigation_system", "irrigation_system": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Irrigation was already present in the UK and was developed throughout the Empire.§REF§( Porter 1999: 351) Porter, Andrew, ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century, vol. 3, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GTF9V4CG§REF§" } ] }