Medieval Arabic texts offer us a window on what was known about land use in the past, as well as land administration and a general picture of agricultural production and water systems and conflicts. It is difficult, however, to go beyond this to describe practice: what peasants actually did with soils, watering, and planting. This lecture explores what can be known about agrarian practice from archaeological methods, discussing in detail one component of the agricultural regime of the time. The construction of agricultural terraces was one of the most important human interventions in the rural landscape, transforming not only the natural but also social and economic systems. The lecture focuses on the results of one completed multidisciplinary study in the Jerusalem highlands, and describes the structure, goals, and methods of a newly-funded DFG project in the Israeli lowlands (TERRSOC). We will explore what archaeological methods are revealing about soil enrichment, watering choices, and cropping – as they are documented “on the ground” - in tightly dated contexts in terraced fields in Mamluk and Ottoman-era Palestine.