The Archaeology of Trading Systems, Part 1: Towards a New Trade Synthesis

Abstract

After almost three centuries of investigations into the question of what it means to be human and the historical processes of becoming human, archaeologists have amassed a huge volume of data on prehistoric human interactions. One of the largest data sets available is on the global distribution and exchange of materials and commodities. What still remains insufficiently understood is the precise nature of these interactions and their role in shaping the diverse cultures that make up the human family as we know it. A plethora of theoretical models combined with a multitude of methodological approaches exist to explain one important aspect of human interaction-trade-and its role and place in shaping humanity. We argue that trade parallels political, religious, and social processes as one of the most significant factors to have affected our evolution. Here we review published literature on archaeological approaches to trade, including the primitivist-modernist and substantivist-formalist-Marxist debates. We also discuss economic, historical, and ethnographic research that directly addresses the role of traders and trade in both past and contemporary societies. In keeping with the complexities of interaction between trade and other aspects of human behavior, we suggest moving away from the either/or perspective or strong identification with any particular paradigm and suggest a return to the middle through a combinational approach to the study of trade in past societies.

Evolutionary and dispersal history of Eurasian house mice Mus musculus clarified by more extensive geographic sampling of mitochondrial DNA

“…Although the archaeological record of agriculture is less comprehensive for Asia than for the Middle East and Europe, there is good evidence for domestication of cereal crops, including rice and millet, by about 9000 years ago in several parts of South and East Asia (Khush 1997;Londo et al, 2006;Zheng et al, 2009;Molina et al, 2011) and even earlier evidence for long-distance overland and maritime trade (Oka and Kusimba, 2008). Assuming that populations experienced a sudden or exponential growth, we calculated t values from the Cytb sequences and estimated times since the onset of population expansions.…”

Managing the risk of climatic variability in late prehistoric northern Chile

“…Ethnographic studies of trading systems in many societies suggest that trade routes and relationships can exist outside of political organizations and sometimes despite the presence of conflict between the parent societies of trading partners (Chalfin, 2001;Oka and Kusimba, 2008). Nonetheless, the risk of inter-community conflict presented by the Late Intermediate Period may have necessitated forms of trade that were more ritualized than in preceding or subsequent periods.…”

Pottery production, regional exchange, and state collapse during the Middle Horizon (A.D.500–1000): LA-ICP-MS analyses of Tiwanaku pottery in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

“…The development of widespread, complex exchange networks is apparent in ancient states and empires around the world (Brumfiel and Earle 1987;D'Altroy and Earle 1985;Earle and Ericson 1977;Oka and Kusimba 2008). While exchange networks are not necessarily dependent on imperial infrastructure and often thrive outside the auspices of state authority (Nakassis et al 2011;Parkinson 2010;Parkinson and Galaty 2009), the movement of goods across states and empires was an important component of ancient political organizations, serving as the basis for elaborate tribute systems, providing a currency for rewarding loyal individuals, and acting as a vehicle for materializing and spreading ideology (D'Altroy et al 1994;DeMarrais et al 1996).…”