The Sustainability and Development of Ancient Economies: Analysis and Examples (Routledge Explorations in Economic History)

Drawing on modern economic theory, this book provides new insights into the economic development of ancient economies and the sustainability of their development.The book pays particular attention to the economics of hunting and gathering societies and their diversity.New ideas are presented about theories of the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, including Childe’s theory of this development.The Agricultural Revolution was a major contributor to economic development because in most cases, it generated an economic surplus.However, as shown, income inequality was a necessary condition for the use of this surplus to promote economic development and to avoid the Malthusian population trap.This inequality was evident in the successful operation of the palatial economies of the Minoan and Mycenaean states.Nevertheless, some post-agricultural economies proved to be unsustainable, and they "mysteriously" disappeared.This happened in the case of the Silesian Únetice culture