| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| Polity | The Seshat Polity ID |
| Year(s) | The years for which we have the data. [negative = BCE] |
| Tag | [Evidenced, Disputed, Suspected, Inferred, Unknown] |
| Verified | A Seshat Expert has approved this piece of data. |
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| irrigation_system | The absence or presence of irrigation system for a polity. |
| # | Polity | Year(s) | Irrigation System | Description | Edit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 |
(Axum II) |
Full Year Range of Axum II is assumed. [350, 599] |
present |
Aksum depended on highland agriculture. [Hatke 2013] "the heartland of the Aksumite state lay in an area with a strong agricultural resource base in cereals, other crops, and livestock." [Connah 2015, p. 147] "the peasants who used the irrigation and terraced agricultural land had to pay for it." [Falola 2002, p. 60] Aksum "had people with skills in tropical agriculture, as well as skills in terracing and irrigating desert land. Many farmers exploited the fertile foothills and valleys of Tigre and Amhara." [Falola 2002, p. 60] "The mountain slopes were terraced and irrigated by the water of mountain streams channelled into the fields." [Kobishanov 1981, p. 383] "In the foot-hills and on the plains, cisterns and dams were constructed as reservoirs for rainwater and irrigation canals were dug." [Kobishanov 1981, p. 383] | |
| 12 |
(Axum III) |
Full Year Range of Axum III is assumed. [600, 800] |
present |
Aksum depended on highland agriculture. [Hatke 2013] "the heartland of the Aksumite state lay in an area with a strong agricultural resource base in cereals, other crops, and livestock." [Connah 2015, p. 147] "the peasants who used the irrigation and terraced agricultural land had to pay for it." [Falola 2002, p. 60] Aksum "had people with skills in tropical agriculture, as well as skills in terracing and irrigating desert land. Many farmers exploited the fertile foothills and valleys of Tigre and Amhara." [Falola 2002, p. 60] "The mountain slopes were terraced and irrigated by the water of mountain streams channelled into the fields." [Kobishanov 1981, p. 383] "In the foot-hills and on the plains, cisterns and dams were constructed as reservoirs for rainwater and irrigation canals were dug." [Kobishanov 1981, p. 383] | |
| 14 |
(Chandela Kingdom) |
Full Year Range of Chandela Kingdom is assumed. [950, 1308] |
present |
"That works of public utility, especially irrigation, were extensively carried out in the Candella kingdom, is known from inscriptions of the dynasty." [Bose 1956, p. 146] | |
| 15 |
(Sena Dynasty) |
Full Year Range of Sena Dynasty is assumed. [1095, 1245] |
present |
“In the delta, embanked fields irrigated by monsoon rainwater and worked by ploughs appeared at least 2,500 years ago.Since then this form of crop production has been expanding gradually across the lowlands at the expense of an older system of hoe cultivation on temporary plots.” [van_Schendel 2009] | |
| 17 |
(Duchy of Aquitaine I) |
Full Year Range of Duchy of Aquitaine I is assumed. [602, 768] |
present |
EMPTY_COMMENT | |
| 18 |
(Chu Kingdom - Warring States Period) |
Full Year Range of Chu Kingdom - Warring States Period is assumed. [-488, -223] |
present |
Irrigation known in this period: "The oldest known hydraulic engineers of China were Sunshu Ao (6th century BCE) of the Spring and Autumn Period and Ximen Bao (5th century BCE) of the Warring States period, both of whom worked on large irrigation projects." [Henkel 2015, p. 87] "Around 430 B.C., the first known large-scale irrigation project was built on the North China Plain (near present-day Hebei Province) to channel water from the Yellow River to nearby fields." [Karplus_Deng 2008, p. 10] | |
| 19 |
(Early Greater Coclé) |
Full Year Range of Early Greater Coclé is assumed. [200, 700] |
absent |
'In some parts of the world [agricultural risk-minimization] was accomplished through infrastructure such as dams and large-scale irrigation canals [...] but there is no evidence for such features among the regions of Central Panama.' [Berrey 2015, p. 207] | |
| 20 |
(Khadga Dynasty) |
Full Year Range of Khadga Dynasty is assumed. [650, 700] |
present |
“In the delta, embanked fields irrigated by monsoon rainwater and worked by ploughs appeared at least 2,500 years ago.Since then this form of crop production has been expanding gradually across the lowlands at the expense of an older system of hoe cultivation on temporary plots.” [van_Schendel 2009] |