The Scale and Nature of the Late Bronze Age Economies of Egypt and Cyprus

Keith Padgham

Πόλη: Oxford

Έτος: 2014

Εκδότης: Archaeopress

Σειρά: BAR International Series 2594

Περιγραφή: Μαλακό εξώφυλλο, 182 σ., 44 α/μ εικόνες, 137 πίνακες, 29,9x21

Περίληψη (στα Αγγλικά)

The aim of this study is to interpret the scale and nature of the economy of the Eastern Mediterranean in the latter period of the LBA. It does this by using a quantitative approach that estimates the size of the workforce required to meet basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) and state needs. The quantitative findings are used to assess the proportion of the workforce dedicated to basic and non-basic activities of LBA Cyprus and NK Egypt, based on the food required to support a worker and his dependants. This allows the assessment of the relative economic strengths of each region, the extent to which their economies were embedded within their culture, and their economic interactions with other LBA Eastern Mediterranean states.

Περιεχόμενα

List of Figures [vii]
List of Tables [viii]
List of reports [x]
Acknowledgements [xi]
Abbreviations [xii]
Conversion factors [xii]
Chronology [xiii]
Conventions [xiii]

Chapter 1: Introduction and past scholarship
1.1 Introduction [1]
1.2 Past scholarship [4]
1.3 The unresolved argument [9]

Chapter 2: Agriculture in the Late Bronze Age
2.1 Introduction [11]
2.2 The farming practices of NK Egypt and LBA Cyprus [12]
2.3 The energy requirement to feed a 100,000 cohort/yr [19]
2.4 The diets of LBA Cyprus and NK Egypt [20]
2.5 Evidence for the diet [21]
2.6 Area of land required [30]
2.7 The labour-rates, workload, and manpower required to support the agrarian cycle [32]
2.8 Workload and manpower [50]
2.9 Observations [51]

Chapter 3: Cloth Production in LBA Cyprus and NK Egypt
3.1 Introduction [53]
3.2 Sources of evidence [53]
3.3 The properties of linen and wool [54]
3.4 The area of cloth required for clothing [54]
3.5 Weight of flax fibre required [62]
3.6 Growing flax in ancient Egypt [65]
3.7 Preparation of flax for spinning [66]
3.8 Production of woollen yarn in LBA Cyprus [69]
3.9 Weaving flax and wool [71]
3.10 Manpower requirements [74]
3.11 Observations [74]

Chapter 4: Shelter
4.1 Introduction [75]
4.2 The process to make mud-bricks [75]
4.3 Demand for mud-bricks in ancient Egypt [77]
4.4 Observations [80]

Chapter 5: Bronze Production in the LBA
5.1 Introduction [81]
5.2 Labour-rates associated with the LBA bronze production [82]
5.3 Charcoal for roasting and smelting ores, refining and alloying [87]
5.4 Transport considerations [89]
5.5 Comparing the cost of bronze production in Cyprus and Smelting tin ores [93]
5.6 Observations [96]

Chapter 6: The scale and nature of the LBA economy
6.1 Introduction [99]
6.2 The scale of the LBA economy [99]
6.3 The scale of LBA maritime trade [105]
6.4 The nature of the LBA economy [110]
6.5 Four theoretical socio-economic frameworks applied to the LBA Eastern Mediterranean [121]

Appendix [131]
Bibliography [145]