The agricultural economy of later prehistoric southern Scotland was complex and varied, shaped by environmental conditions, technological practices, and social organization. The communities undertook a mixed farming system combining arable farming and pastoralism, that went beyond bare subsistence levels. Cattle-based economies are evident from well-preserved animal bone assemblages, such as at Broxmouth.
We also know that Iron Age communities adapted to environmental constraints. Agricultural activity was often located in upland zones, where later farming did not erase prehistoric traces. Climatic deterioration around the turn of the 1st millennium BC likely pushed settlements and cultivation to lower elevations. Terracing was used to combat soil erosion, showing adaptation to environmental challenges. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, there was a shift toward agricultural intensification, possibly due to population growth or social changes. This is reflected in more structured field systems and landscape reorganisation.
As always, our understanding of subsistence and farming comes from analysis of the wider landscape and site assemblages.
6.2.5.1 Field Systems and Agricultural Patterns