Millennial Knowledge
Learning like a state: Organizational learning and state capacity in ancient Greece
Federica Carugati & Mark Pyzyk
Journal of Institutional Economics, May 2025
Abstract:
State capacity is critical for development. Yet, the question of how states learn -- that is, how they acquire and incorporate information to improve performance over time -- has received little attention. In this paper, we draw from organizational theory and the political economy of knowledge and innovation to study the components of effective learning in states as organizations. We focus on three functionally simple, but well-documented early states in ancient Greece: Sparta, Athens, and Macedon. We argue that Macedon's superior performance relied on a learning model capable of integrating both experiential and experimental knowledge within existing structures. By directing our attention away from the early modern period, where much work in economic history and historical political economy is concentrated, our account challenges the focus of the existing literature on processes of centralization. Instead, we highlight organizational factors that may promote capacity-enhancing learning even in the context of weak centralization.
Riding the monsoon: Geography and Iron Age trade in the Indian Ocean
Conrad Copeland
Economic History Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper exploits ancient textual sources to develop a database of ancient trade in the Indian Ocean and model trade in the region during the Iron Age. Wind-speed data are used to construct a gravity model of trade and are combined with detailed textual data from the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea to analyse historical development trends in the Indian Ocean. Whilst distance was an important factor in maritime trade, the speed of travel was the defining feature, with a substantially non-linear effect. Trade is shown to be lower between locations that are close together with similar export baskets, reinforcing an endowment-based, Ricardian specification of the gravity model for this period. Additionally, there is significant evidence for both export-led growth and an ancient version of the 'resource curse'. Cities that export a greater variety of goods exhibited a significant increase in density during the period. Similarly, areas around cities with exports that relied more heavily on manufactures and artisanal goods grew at a faster rate than areas around cities that focused more on cash crops.
From Land's End to the Levant: Did Britain's tin sources transform the Bronze Age in Europe and the Mediterranean?
Alan Williams et al.
Antiquity, forthcoming
Abstract:
Bronze Age-Early Iron Age tin ingots recovered from four Mediterranean shipwrecks off the coasts of Israel and southern France can now be provenanced to tin ores in south-west Britain. These exceptionally rich and accessible ores played a fundamental role in the transition from copper to full tin-bronze metallurgy across Europe and the Mediterranean during the second millennium BC. The authors' application of a novel combination of three independent analyses (trace element, lead and tin isotopes) to tin ores and artefacts from Western and Central Europe also provides the foundation for future analyses of the pan-continental tin trade in later periods.
Diversity statistics of onomastic data reveal social patterns in Hebrew Kingdoms of the Iron Age
Ariel Vishne et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 20 May 2025
Abstract:
The distribution of personal names provides unique, yet often overlooked, insight into modern and historical societies. This study employs diversity statistics -- commonly used in ecology -- to analyze onomastic data from Iron Age II archaeological excavations in the Southern Levant (950-586 BCE). Our findings reveal higher onomastic diversity in the Kingdom of Israel compared to Judah, suggesting a more cosmopolitan society. We also observe a decrease in name diversity in Judah over time, potentially reflecting sociopolitical changes. Center/periphery analysis shows contrasting patterns in Israel and Judah. These results provide insights into social dynamics, cultural interactions, and identity formation in these ancient societies. Our methodology, validated using supplementary archaeological data, as well as modern datasets, offers a robust framework for applying diversity statistics across various modern and historical contexts.
Illuminating interaction networks along the Silk Roads: A multi-isotopic analysis of the Zaghunluq Cemetery, southern Xinjiang, China
Xueye Wang et al.
Antiquity, forthcoming
Abstract:
Oasis communities across Central Asia were key to the emergence and maintenance of the ancient Silk Roads that spanned Eurasia from the late second century BC, yet our understanding of early interaction networks in this region is limited. Multi-isotopic analysis of human teeth from the Zaghunluq Cemetery, southern Xinjiang (sixth century BC to first century AD) now suggests that oasis communities established intricate exchange networks, forming strong ties with other nearby oases and mountain pastoralists and weak ties, facilitated through in migration, with more distant regions. These diverse connections, the authors argue, made possible cultural exchange across the challenging geography of eastern Central Asia.