Description
Trade before Civilization explores the role that long-distance exchange played in the establishment and/or maintenance of social complexity, and its role in the transformation of societies from egalitarian to non-egalitarian. Bringing together research by an international and methodologically diverse team of scholars, it analyses the relationship between long-distance trade and the rise of inequality. The volume illustrates how elites used exotic prestige goods to enhance and maintain their elevated social positions in society. Global in scope, it offers case studies of early societies and sites in Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Mesoamerica. Deploying a range of inter-disciplinary and cutting-edge theoretical approaches from a cross-cultural framework, the volume offers new insights and enhances our understanding of socio-political evolution. It will appeal to archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, conflict theorists, and ethnohistorians, as well as economists seeking to understand the nexus between imported luxury items and cultural evolution.
This volume analyses the relationship between long-distance trade and the rise of inequality and social complexity.
About the Author
Johan Ling is a Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg. He is also Director of the Rock Art Research Archives (SHFA). His research interests include Bronze Age rock art, warfare, long distance exchange, secret societies, and the rise of social complexity. He has conducted archaeological excavations throughout Scandinavia. Richard J. Chacon is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Winthrop University. His research interests include indigenous peoples, warfare, long distance exchange, secret societies, and the rise of social complexity. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork among the following indigenous groups: Yora, Yanomamoe, Achuar, Cotacachi, Otavalo, and Haida. Kristian Kristiansen is a Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg. His research interests include the Bronze Age, archaeological theory and archaeological heritage. He has also explored the movement of people, things, animals, and ideas in antiquity. He has conducted archaeological excavations in Sicily, Hungary, Denmark, and Sweden.
Book Information
ISBN 9781316514689
Author Johan Ling
Format Hardback
Page Count 446
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 1070g
Dimensions(mm) 259mm * 182mm * 26mm
This volume analyses the relationship between long-distance trade and the rise of inequality and social complexity.
About the Author
Johan Ling is a Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg. He is also Director of the Rock Art Research Archives (SHFA). His research interests include Bronze Age rock art, warfare, long distance exchange, secret societies, and the rise of social complexity. He has conducted archaeological excavations throughout Scandinavia. Richard J. Chacon is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Winthrop University. His research interests include indigenous peoples, warfare, long distance exchange, secret societies, and the rise of social complexity. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork among the following indigenous groups: Yora, Yanomamoe, Achuar, Cotacachi, Otavalo, and Haida. Kristian Kristiansen is a Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg. His research interests include the Bronze Age, archaeological theory and archaeological heritage. He has also explored the movement of people, things, animals, and ideas in antiquity. He has conducted archaeological excavations in Sicily, Hungary, Denmark, and Sweden.
Book Information
ISBN 9781316514689
Author Johan Ling
Format Hardback
Page Count 446
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 1070g
Dimensions(mm) 259mm * 182mm * 26mm
