This sparsely-described exhibition looks at the history of Mediterranean farming. Spanning 10,000 years, Ruralities follows the birth of agriculture in the region, the relationship of land to ancient religions, and the rearing of animals.
The exhibition’s pivot is what experts call the “Mediterranean triad”: the combination of grain, grapevines and olive trees which allowed farming to thrive. Innovations which we now take for granted, such as freshwater irrigation, are shown as having helped to shape people’s surroundings, and therefore their cultures, ideas and identities. Throughout, the question is asked: what does the history of farming mean for us in the age of global warming, food shortages, droughts?
MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée)
7 Prom. Robert Laffont, 13002 Marseille