Summary The sixteenth century in Europe was a time of profound change, the threshold between the 'medieval' and the 'modern', as new technologies were introduced, distant lands explored, oceanic trade routes opened, and innovative ideas pursued in fields as varied as politics, science, philosophy, law, and religion. But sweeping transformations also occurred in the rural world, profoundly altering the countryside in both appearance and practices. Crucially for historians, there is abundant documentary evidence for these changes but, while they are less well-documented, their impact can also be traced archaeologically. This cutting-edge volume is the first to explore the archaeology of the rural world across the 'long' sixteenth century and to investigate the changing innovations that were seen in landscape, technology, agriculture, and husbandry during this period. Drawing together contributions from across Europe, and from a range of archaeological disciplines, including zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, landscape archaeology, material culture studies, and technology, this collection of essays sheds new light on a key period of innovation that was a significant precursor to modern economies and societies. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: The Rural World in the 16th Century ? IDOIA GRAU-SOLOGESTOA AND UMBERTO ALBARELLA Changes in Rural Milieu and Land Use on Estates in Southern Bohemia during the 16th Century ? LADISLAV ?APEK Landscape and Settlement Evolution during the 16th Century. A Multidisciplinary Study of Two Mountain Areas (Eastern France) ? VALENTIN CHEVASSU, EMILIE GAUTHIER, PIERRE NOUVEL, VINCENT BICHET, HERVÉ RICHARD AND ISABELLE JOUFFROY-BAPICOT Impact of Subsistence on Medieval and Early Modern History Land Use in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands ? JANA MAZÁ?KOVÁ AND PETR ?A?A Livestock Improvement and Landscape Enclosure in Late and Post-Medieval Buckinghamshire, England ? TAMSYN FRASER Improvements in Animal Husbandry between the End of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era in England and the Basque Country: A Zooarchaeological Comparison ? IDOIA GRAU-SOLOGESTOA AND UMBERTO ALBARELLA Innovation: Turning Something Old into Something New. Vicia faba var. major ? ANNA MARIA GRASSO, SILVIA D'AQUINO, ELIGIO VACCA, MARCO NICOLI, MILENA PRIMAVERA, GIROLAMO FIORENTINO Changes in Rural Textile Craft in 16th-17th Century in the Eastern Baltic Region (Estonian Example) ? RIINA RAMMO Iron and Steel Implements - Increased Diversification during the Early Modern Era in Sweden ? CATARINA KARLSSON