Session: #254

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
4. Polis, Empire, League and Beyond – Living in Interconnected Societies
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
Understanding the Dynamics of Making and Trading Goods across Medium and Long Distances in the 2nd Millennium BC
Content:
It has long been known that the widespread adoption of tin-bronze across Europe, north Africa and Asia during the 2nd millennium BC had to be underpinned by an extensive connectivity linking directly or indirectly metal producers and consumers. However, the debates concerning the economics and logistics of this Bronze Age trade have tended to concentrate upon single sites or single materials (e.g. metal, ceramics, glass, amber etc.) or widely distributed artefact types. This seems to be missed opportunity especially in the light of limited engagement with potentially overlapping debates concerning the transmission of technologies and foodstuffs, the movement of people as well as the nature of economic systems during the 2nd millennium BC. This session seeks consider how to define and evaluate the dynamics of the Bronze Age trade. The aim is explore, using examples of various traded goods: the organisation of production; the direction and logistics of transport; the potential quantities involved; what was traded; who was involved; the knowledge and expertise required; and the broader economic and social implications.
Keywords:
Bronze Age, Trade and Exchange, Economic systems
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
Benjamin Roberts (United Kingdom) 1
Co-organisers:
Nicola Ialongo (Germany) 2
Alan Williams (United Kingdom) 1
Kamal Badreshany (United Kingdom) 1
Affiliations:
1. Department of Archaeology, Durham University
2. Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany