The Role Of Markets In The Development Of Social Complexity

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. Leah Minc, of Oregon State University, and an international team of collaborators will explore the origins of market-place exchange and the specific political and social conditions fostering market systems in ancient economies. Although markets are a fundamental part of modern economy, scholars question whether similar commercial exchange systems developed in ancient societies and debate which factors stimulated their emergence and growth in non-western economic traditions. From the perspective of modern microeconomic theory, some researchers have argued that commercial exchange and a complex division of labor evolved naturally in complex societies as an efficient solution to provisioning large populations with essential goods, once political stability ensured freedom of movement and rule of law. Other scholars, in contrast, dispute the applicability of the modern mind-set (including assumptions of economic rationality, competition, and profit motive) to non-western or pre-industrial societies. For example, some historians question whether in highly stratified societies, where control over the means of production (land and labor) was firmly held by the ruling class, production and exchange built on profit incentives could reasonably develop among the peasantry, or whether in these cases alternative forms of exchange (such as extended family networks) might provide a means for acquiring needed commodities. Archaeology is well poised to evaluate the universality of micro-economic assumptions, by examining the evidence for market exchange in the distant past, as well as the political and social context for its development and the possible persistence of alternative forms of exchange that supplied communities with necessary materials. This collaborative project will examine a pristine case of market system development by using nuclear science and geochemical techniques to trace exchanges of basic, utilitarian goods. The project will focus on the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, home to one of the best documented early state societies in the New World, and will explore how key political events affected regional economic interaction and integration through time. Drawing on excavated collections of domestic pottery from communities throughout the valley, the research team will use robust methods of trace-element analysis (instrumental neutron activation analysis) to establish where ceramic vessels were manufactured, map their movement from producer to consumer, and assess the spatial scale, organization, and intensity of intra-valley exchange across key periods of state emergence and consolidation (from ca. 700 BC through 550 AD). The observed distribution patterns will provide a sound foundation from which to re-assess specific models of market system evolution, as well as a means for future studies to address how these economic changes affected households' production, consumption, and exchange decisions. Further, the intersection of archaeology and nuclear science will create opportunities for STEM education and professional training for students in the social sciences; at the same time, due to its "human appeal," archaeometric research can build support for nuclear science, engaging public interest and justifying infrastructure and lab equipment upgrades.