The Political Economy and Metal Trade in Bronze Age Europe
Understanding Regional Variability in Terms of Comparative Advantages and Articulations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7989006 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Timothy Earle (0000-0002-0339-7694, Northwestern University, corresponding author), Johan Ling (0000-0002-9355-4699, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author), Claes Uhnér (University of Gothenburg, corresponding author), Zofia Stos-Gale, Zofia Anna Stos-Gale (0000-0002-9722-5024, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author), Lene Melheim (University of Gothenburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 633-657 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1179/1461957115y.0000000008 |
| OpenAlex | W1577276263 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 95 |
| References cited | 36 |
In the second millennium cal BC, a new metal conquered Europe: the alloy of copper and tin that improved the quality of tools and weapons. This development, we argue, initiated a framework for a new political economy. We explore how a political economy approach may help understand the European Bronze Age by focussing on regional comparative advantages in long-distance trade and resulting bottlenecks in commodity flows. Links existed in commodity chains, where obligated labour and ownership of resources helped mobilize surpluses, thus creating potential for social segments to control the production and flows of critical goods. The political economy of Bronze Age Europe would thus represent a transformation in how would-be leaders mobilized resources to support their political ends. The long-distance trade in metals and other commodities created a shift from local group ownership towards increasingly individual strategies to obtain wealth from macro-regional trade. We construct our argument to make sense of available data, but recognize that our model's primary purpose is to structure future research to test the model
Archaeology · Argument (complex analysis · Bronze Age · Commodity · Construct (python library · Economic system · Economics · Economy · Geography · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law
Mediterranean Late Bronze Age copper ingots
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Connected Histories
Emergence of Hilltop Settlements in the Southeastern Baltic
Sustained Bronze Age Agricultural Practice at the North Sea Coast
Becoming Bog Bodies Sacrifice and Politics of Exclusion, as Evidenced in the Deposition of Skeletal Remains in Wetlands Near Uppåkra
Rethinking Neolithic Societies. New Perspectives on Social Relations, Political Organization and Cohabitation
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Moving metals II
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Defining the Lead Isotopic Fingerprint of Copper Ores from North-West Spain
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| Unique citing works | 95 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8,64 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 88 |