Archaeology of trade
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The archaeology of trade and exchange is a sub-discipline of archaeology that identifies how material goods and ideas moved across human populations. The terms “trade” and “exchange” have slightly different connotations: trade focuses on the long-distance circulation of material goods; exchange considers the transfer of persons and ideas.
One part of archaeology considers pre-modern societies. Markets, currency, craft production, ownership and concepts such as buying and selling had different meanings in those societies. Earlier economies were strongly defined by religious, ethnic and geographic constraints. Exchange could be used to strengthen social bonds instead of creating wealth. The archaeology of trade therefore includes the transfer of ideas and social practices in addition to the exchange of physical goods.
The archaeology of trade and exchange considers how trade influenced social development and power structures.
