The enhancement of crop yields through manuring has been attested since early farming prehistory in many parts of the world. This article reviews the history of research into the potential archaeological evidence for this practice in Europe, the Mediterranean lands and the Near East. The focus is on the interpretation of ceramic data recovered in surface field surveys conducted since 1950 and what sorts of activities may be plausibly inferred from them. The article examines the origins of the model, objections to it, and recent analyses which again strengthen it. A particular case-study analyses the evidence for the protohistoric and early historic periods in Greece. The methodological and empirical arguments tend to strongly reaffirm the importance of artificial manuring in agrarian regimes of all periods, and its significance in furthering understandings of economic and demographic history and prehistory.

自史前农业早期以来，世界许多地区都证明了通过施肥提高作物产量。本文回顾了欧洲、地中海地区和近东地区这种做法的潜在考古证据的研究历史。重点是对自 1950 年以来进行的地表实地调查中恢复的陶瓷数据的解释，以及可以从中合理地推断出哪些类型的活动。本文探讨了该模型的起源、对该模型的反对意见以及最近再次强化该模型的分析。一项特定的案例研究分析了希腊史前和早期历史时期的证据。方法论和实证论据倾向于强烈重申人工施肥在各个时期的农业制度中的重要性，及其在进一步理解经济和人口历史以及史前史方面的重要性。