Farming is also a significant transitional theme within the early medieval period (Fowler 2002), not least in the changing social framework that controlled it and which it underpinned.
Priority 1:
A better understanding of contemporary land use around Pitcarmick buildings is needed along with clarification of the role of transhumance.
Priority 2:
Pollen analysis remains the best way to establish the continuity of land use, provided that the temporal resolution of analyses is sufficiently small, though it does not, of course, define the continuity of settlement itself.
Research Questions
PKARF Qu 6.46: How typical of the uplands is the extraordinary array of field systems at Pitcarmick, which remain uninvestigated?
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PKARF Qu 6.47: How typical of the uplands was the agricultural regime defined at Lair? Was it slightly different to most other Pitcarmick-type farms because it was lower and warmer than most?
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PKARF Qu 6.48: What could a programme of pollen analysis and research at field systems close to Pitcarmick-type buildings tell us about the continuity of land use?
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