Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Ancient Economies
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Kay
Apr 28, 2005, 10:10:16 AM4/28/05
to
[excerpt] Social scientists who study ancient societies now commonly
use the term political economy to emphasize that economic systems
fundamentally involve social and political relations. Even though
archaeologists have long understood that the main developmental
thresholds of sociopolitical complexity --such as the emergence of
chiefdoms, cities and states --can be related to changes in economic
behavior, we have only recently begun to grapple with the real
complexities of integrated political and economic systems. The
research questions emerging from the analysis of political economies
are still derived from material patterns in the archaeological record:
How was the agricultural landscape managed? How was food produced and
redistributed? How were raw materials acquired and worked to produce
goods for local use and consumption or exchange? And in what cultural
context?
use the term political economy to emphasize that economic systems
fundamentally involve social and political relations. Even though
archaeologists have long understood that the main developmental
thresholds of sociopolitical complexity --such as the emergence of
chiefdoms, cities and states --can be related to changes in economic
behavior, we have only recently begun to grapple with the real
complexities of integrated political and economic systems. The
research questions emerging from the analysis of political economies
are still derived from material patterns in the archaeological record:
How was the agricultural landscape managed? How was food produced and
redistributed? How were raw materials acquired and worked to produce
goods for local use and consumption or exchange? And in what cultural
context?
http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/42363
http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/42363?&print=yes
0 new messages