Modelling Trade in Non-Literate Archaeological Contexts

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

“…We completely agree with Thomas (1975), who stated that this was part of a larger trend within the social sciences and humanities toward structural explanations for all socially and culturally manifested phenomena, past and present. Subsequently, studies focusing on structural embedding of exchange in the 1980s examined New World or non/preliterate societies (Clark 1979;Ericson and Earle 1982). Most of the papers in Models and Methods in Regional Exchange (Fry 1980a) approached exchange infrastructure of ceramics in the Southwest and Mesoamerican culture areas with the underlying goals of outlining procurement and production sources (Bishop 1980;Rands and Bishop 1980;Rice 1980) and modeling the intraregional distribution of goods within the social and political context of those societies (Allen 1980;Arnold 1980;Deutchman 1980;Fry 1980b;Hodder 1980;Plog 1980;Rands and Bishop 1980;Toll et al 1980).…”

“…Interestingly, between the 1970s and 1980s there was a split between Old and New World perspectives on trade exchange, with most New World and some Old World researchers favoring strong political integration of all economic activity and the structural subordination of commerce as a significant activity in the development of sociopolitical complexity Brumfiel and Earle 1987;Clark 1979;Ericson 1981;Ericson and Earle 1982;Garber 1985;Hirth 1978;Kohl 1975Kohl , 1978McDowell 1976;Ratnagar 1981;Santley 1985). Other studies on Old World trade and some New World approaches favored a dynamic state of flux between trade/commerce and political attempts to regulate, control, and dominate the economy (Alden 1982a;Coblenz 1978;Cordell 1977;Crawford 1978;Davidson and McKerrel 1976;Fulford 1989;Gledhill and Larsen 1982;Guderjan et al 1989;Gurevich 1982;Hårdh 1977Hårdh -1978Hårdh et al 1988;Hassig 1985;Irwin 1978;Leciejewicz 1978;MacReady and Thompson 1984;McKillop 2005;Offner 1981b;Smith 1987;Tosi and Piperno 1973;Wells 1984;Whitehouse 1983;Whitehouse and Williamson 1973).…”

Alternative Sources in Regional Exchange Systems: A Gravity Model Approach.

“…Hodder 1974;Cummins 1974;Hodder and Orton 1976;Elliott et al 1978;Clark 1979;Hodder and Lane 1982). Hodder 1974;Cummins 1974;Hodder and Orton 1976;Elliott et al 1978;Clark 1979;Hodder and Lane 1982).…”

“…During the past decade a number of different approaches to the analysis of distribution patterns of stone axes have been made (e.g. Hodder 1974;Cummins 1974;Hodder and Orton 1976;Elliott et al 1978;Clark 1979;Hodder and Lane 1982). The purpose of these has been to identify the processes through which axes were dispersed from source areas to distant areas of consumption.…”