Bronze Age Economies of the Carpathian Basin: Trade, Craft Production, and Agro-Pastoral Intensification.

Archaeology;Economy;Bronze Age;Europe;Zooarchaeology;Anthropology and Archaeology;Social Sciences;Anthropology

Nicodemus, Amy JerushaWhallon, Jr., Robert E. ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Archaeology;    Economy;    Bronze Age;    Europe;    Zooarchaeology;    Anthropology and Archaeology;    Social Sciences;    Anthropology;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/107331/ajnico_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

This thesis develops a general anthropological framework through which factors underlying the emergence of (and variability within) complex political formations can be understood, which I apply to Early-Middle Bronze societies of the Carpathian Basin (c. 2700-1500 BC).I use economy as a means to assess the processes underpinning emergent administrative institutions, since whatever their form, they require novel means of finance.A fundamental aspect of political economies is centralization, in which control over the economy is increasingly held in the hands of the elite or a ruling class.I target three major aspects of the economy: (1) regional exchange, (2) craft manufacture, and (3) agro-pastoral systems.For each of these, I establish methods that allow the relative degree of centralization to be assessed over time within individual settlements as well as between contemporary groups.Agro-pastoral systems are given special attention as they have not been well integrated into studies of early complex societies.I employ this economic framework to examine the uneven development of complex societies in the Carpathian Basin Bronze Age.This is a period in which regional hierarchies develop in some areas while in others they do not, creating a mosaic of contemporary political forms.My methods highlight common economic pathways that the more complex systems share, including increased centralization of long-distance exchange and local manufacture of prestige goods at emergent political centers.However, I also demonstrate that intensification within agro-pastoral sectors is equally important, the specific form of which is highly variable among polities.In particular, emergent centers all show a movement away from small-scale, risk-averse animal economies towards those that place greater emphasis on one or more high-value animal products, such as wool or large-bodied livestock.At Pecica Şanţul Mare (Middle Maros), the focal study group, a unique economy developed, one that specialized in the breeding of horses; animals that generally occur in low numbers at this time.The period of peak horse production coincides with elaborate horse-centered feasting and early evidence for chariotry in the Carpathian Basin. Horses may have even overshadowed metal production as the primary export commodity for this community.