Measuring the Flow of Goods with Archaeological Data

Abstract

Ian Hodder and Colin Renfrew have hypothesized that the nature of ancient trading systems can be deduced from the curvature of distance decay gradients derived from the dispersal of artifacts recovered at archaeological sites. They identify three types of exchange: local, with a gradient convex to the origin in a single-log interaction model, down-the-line, with a linear gradient, and random-walk, with a gradient concave to the origin. The random-walk pattern is said to be characteristic of complex trading networks. Roman period coins excavated at Dura Europus in Syria were used to test these ideas. The trading system was complex, therefore random-walk curvature was anticipated, but the curves were highly convex to the origin, contrary to expectations. This could be the result of circulation across the boundary of the region where the coins had value as money. Interaction values would have been artificially raised within the monetary zone and depressed outside of it, producing strong curvature. The pattern of steepness of the gradients conforms to expectations based on the value and transportability of the coins. It is also likely that political conditions and Roman monetary policy influenced the gradients.

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