Economy as part of archaeology.

– When someone asks me what I work with, I reply that I study prehistoric economic systems. How do I do that? Economics is not about ideas, but about tangible things: people working, things being produced, the exchange of goods. No subject is as suitable for archaeological study as economics, except possibly DNA research.

This is how Timothy Earle explained the subject at the Felix Neubergh lecture in mid-October.

Economics is about seeking answers to the question “How?”, said Timothy Earle, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Northwestern University, USA. – How do you get people to give up their personal freedom to build, for example, the temples, fortresses, terraced slopes, roads and aqueducts for which the Inca Empire is so famous? The answer is the staple economy, a commodity export-oriented economy. The empire had conquered a lot of land from vanquished territory, but gave the defeated population the opportunity to work the land in order to earn a living. In return, they were hired as labour for the various construction projects undertaken by the Inca Empire.

Since the prosperity of the Inca Empire was not based on trade with distant lands but on domestic production, there are not many prestigious objects from that period on display in museums, not even in Peru.

However, it is a completely different experience visiting the National Museum in Copenhagen. The amount of objects from the Danish Bronze Age is overwhelming, Timothy Earle explained.

Scandinavia, with its low population density, had a different kind of economy. It was based on trade in valuables, which is easier to control the further the goods are transported, and the more exotic they are perceived to be the more highly valued they are. Loyalty was created through gifts. The typical example is the

feudal lord who gave his vassal a sword, thus making the vassal forever obliged to serve him. At the same time, only a small proportion of Scandinavians seem to have owned the land they farmed. One way of paying for the use of the land may have been to participate in the construction of the ships that were necessary for long-distance trade, which is reminiscent of the situation in the Inca Empire. So, you could mix different ways of handling financial transactions.

Another economic system is where goods are exchanged for money. – Coin production requires a well-functioning state and is thus not something we find in prehistoric societies. However, there are possible exceptions, because certain archaeological material can be interpreted as a sign that seashells were used as a means of payment in some societies.

After the lecture, Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg bestowed a medal and a cheque for SEK 50,000 on the speaker, tributes associated with the Felix Neubergh Lecture.

– The medal is not a coin but a valuable object, stated Timothy Earle. My accepting it means that I will forever be indebted to the University of Gothenburg. The cheque, on the other hand, is about money, the value of which is guaranteed by a well-functioning state. What we are experiencing today is thus another example of how different economic systems can be combined in a society. The fact that Felix Neubergh bequeathed a lot of money, without which this lecture would not have been possible, also shows how important economics is in all kinds of contexts, not least when it comes to creating bonds between people under festive circumstances.

Timothy Earle is now for ever indebted to the University of Gothenburg.

How do you get people to give up their personal freedom to build, for example, the temples, fortresses, terraced slopes, roads and aqueducts for which the Inca Empire is so famous?

TIMOTHY EARLE

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Facts

Föreläsningen A Deep History of Finance: Archaeological Investigations of Institutional Support in the Andes, Melanesia, and Central Europe hölls den 12 oktober av Timothy Earle, professor emeritus i antropologi vid Northwestern University, USA. Felix Neubergh-föreläsningen har hållits varje år sedan 1977. Vartannat år handlar föreläsningen om bank och finans, vartannat år om arkeologi. Timothy Earles föreläsning skulle ha hållits förra året, men blev uppskjuten på grund av pandemin.