Bronze Age Economics analyserer økonomiske systemer i bronzealderen og hvordan de påvirkede samfundsudviklingen. Bogen fremhæver, hvordan handel, ressourcestyring og politiske strukturer bidrog til dannelsen af komplekse samfund. Læringen viser, at økonomiske forhold har stor betydning for sociale og politiske forandringer.
Titel på undersøgelse:
Bronze Age Economics: The Beginnings of Political Economies.
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Hele abstrakt på originalsprog:
“Bronze Age Economics: The Beginnings of Political Economies” by Timothy Earle is a comprehensive study of the economic foundations of early societies, focusing on chiefdoms and their evolution toward state formation. Published in 2002, the book draws on detailed case studies from Hawaii, the Andes, and Denmark to illustrate how economic intensification, surplus production, and controlled distribution of staple goods and prestige items drove political development. Earle examines concepts like property rights, specialization, and exchange, arguing that economic strategies were central to societal complexity. Reflecting his lifelong work, the book contributes to processual archaeology and social evolution theory. Reviewers like Colin Renfrew praise it as a pioneering work offering a holistic understanding of Bronze Age political economies.