Economies are fundamental to all human societies by providing the material support for their populations and respective social institutions. This volume brings together scholars from archaeology, anthropology, and history in a collaborative examination of how premodern societies produced and mobilized resources to support social, political, and religious institutions. Thirteen societies from horticultural/pastoral groups to expansionistic states are used to develop a truly comparative view of economic development. Topics discussed include the nature of productive self-sufficiency, forms of economic specialization, the economics of labor and resource mobilization, economic inequality and stratification, commerce and the marketplace, and urban and ritual economies. The book's collective discussions have led to the construction of five generalizations and eighteen specific hypotheses about the way that ancient and premodern societies navigated the material worlds in which they lived. These hypotheses will serve as a basis for scholars exploring how societies in other times and places navigated their economic landscapes.
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The book provides an innovative, inter-disciplinary, and comparative examination of ancient and premodern economies.
1. Premodern economies: a comparative understanding Kenneth Hirth and
Timothy Earle;
2. Our society portfolio Emily Kate;
3. Productive
self-sufficiency Timothy Earle, Anna Prentiss and Glenn Storey;
4. Economic
specialization in ancient and premodern societies Kenneth Hirth, Rahul Oka,
Nikolay Kradin and Anna Prentiss;
5. The economics of labor Glenn R. Storey,
Robin Beck and Thomas Håkansson;
6. Resource mobilization: from voluntarism
to coercion Kenneth Hirth, Marcella Frangipane, Glenn Storey and Anna
Prentiss;
7. Inequality, property, and stratification N. Thomas Håkansson,
Jessica Dijkma and Keith Kintigh;
8. Commerce and the marketplace Jessica
Dijkman, Kenneth Hirth, Nikolay Kradin and Rahul Oka;
9. Urban economy:
cities and their places in the economy of ancient societies Marcella
Frangipane, Jessica Dijkman, Tricia McAnany, Glenn Storey and Kenneth Hirth;
10. Ritual economies Patricia A. McAnany, Robin Beck, Keith Kintigh and Rahul
Oka;
11. Premodern economies: conclusions and hypotheses Timothy Earle and
Kenneth Hirth; Glossary of economic concepts; Bibliography.
Kenneth Hirth is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. Timothy Earle is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University.
