WEIGHT AND VALUE IN PRE-COINAGE SOCIETIES, Vol. II: Sidelights on Measurement from the Aegean and the Orient

In English. Soft cover, 24 cm, 320 pp., ill.: 269 figures. This second volume by the same author, on the subject of weight and value in pre-coinage societies, consists of five parts. Each explores an independent subject, although all five focus on those who owned and used measuring tools in Bronze Age societies in the Aegean and the Orient. Part I presents the framework of the discussion: it deals with the material and symbolic significance of the balance and with the circulation of goods that required measurement and accounting. Part II presents a case study from the Aegean, the settlement of Akrotiri on the island of Thera. Balance pans and balance weights are discussed within their context as are metal items of standard forms and weight values. Part III presents three case studies of the Aegean in connection with the custom of depositing balances and weights in the tombs of the irowners. The case studies concern three gold balances from Mycenae, the five sets of bronze pans from Vapheio and the reconstructed balance from Pylos. Part IV examines cultures from the Orient that have yielded comprehensible textual documentation on weight measuring and value estimation. It concentrates on value adding textile production and acquaints the reader with current debate on problems of money, markets and prices. In Part V, the focus returns to the ancient users of the measuring tools in the settlement of Akrotri and offers an approach to dealing with the domain of the private economy. The interest here centers on the wealth of individuals and the cost of acquiring it, whether this wealth consists of real estate and house equipment, agricultural and animal capital, industrial products, private property in the form of metal, or accumulated merchandise. Textual information from the Orient is used at every step in the research presented in this book. The main aim is to present the material and offer arguments in the hope of provoking further discussion on the matter of personal economics in Late Bronze Age Aegean societies.

CONTENTS:

I. RESEARCH CONTEXT: FROM THE AEGEAN TO THE ORIENT?

1. From material evidence to symbolism

2. Correlating material evidence with the written sources

3. The circulation of commodities to be measured

II. WEIGHT MEASUREMENT IN THE AEGEAN: THE CASE OF AKROTIRI ON THE ISLAND OF THERA

1. Weighing equipment: Contextual analysis

1.1. Balances found in Akrotiri and their context

1.2. Balance weights: Material evidence and context

2. Commodities measured by weight: The case of metals

2.1. Metal as raw material: A copper ingot from the settlement

2.2. Metal as a finished product: vessels and tools

III. OWNERSHIP OF THE BALANCE: EVIDENCE FROM FUNERARY CONTEXTS IN THE AEGEAN

1. Mycenae shaft grave balances

2. Balances from Pylos

3. Balances and weights from Vapheio

IV. WEIGHT MEASURING AND ESTIMATING VALUE: EX ORIENTE LUX

1. Goods evaluated by weight: From consumables to commodities

1.1. The importance of wool

1.2. The function and necessity for ropes

1.3. The luxury of linen

1.4. The predominance of textiles

1.5. The hidden side of dyes

2. Demand for goods: from use value to exchange value and the means of

payment

V. AN APPROACH TO BRONZE AGE AEGEAN MICROECONOMICS IN AKROTIRI, THERA: INSIGHTS FROM THE ORIENT

1. Harbours and local markets

2. Materials and products

3. Houses and properties

4. House inventories and merchandise

5. Animal capital and means of transport

6. Cloth producers and textile dealers

7. Private property in metal

8. The ownership of weight measuring tools

9. Personal property transactions

Bibliography

Index of place names and ethnics