Abstract
In the northwestern Mediterranean, the rural world underwent major economic, social and cultural changes between the end of the Iron Age and the beginning of the Middle Ages, with a decisive impact on the evolution of agricultural production, practices and landscapes. Roman expansion first led to the spread of villae during the 2 nd and 1 st c. BC, leading to a new structuration of rural areas and the development of a speculative agriculture, which strongly favoured wine production. By the end of the Roman period, new changes are observed: while certain Roman villae are still occupied, the appearance of a new network of rural settlements reveals the emergence of a new form of rural economy. Although these changes are increasingly well documented by archaeology, their impact on the agrarian production and practices remains little explored. The multiplication of archaeobotanical investigations in southwestern Mediterranean France allows us to present a first review of farming practices and their evolution during this key period. The study of 30 rural sites provides new data concerning local agriculture between the 2 nd c. BC and the 8 th c. AD (cultivated plants, prevalence of certain species, associated farming practices, exploited landscapes) and attempts to detect potential specificities / evolutions over time such as changes in staple crops, diversification, exploitation of new "terroirs".