Manufactures and markets. The contributions of Hellenistic pottery to economies large and small. Proceedings of the fourth IARPotHP International Conference, Athens 2018 , 2022
This contribution aims to propose new perspectives concerning the link between commodities exchan... more This contribution aims to propose new perspectives concerning the link between commodities exchange and ancient trade, in relation to the implication of an eventual market economy and what could have been the social meaning of such economic system in Antiquity. In the actual economic theory, the Market is presented as a metaphoric space where economic agents are free to sell and buy goods, a definition that may be applied to some aspects of commodities exchange in the Hellenistic era. On the other hand, market economy implies a general and coherent system of coordinated exchange domains, regulated by a price system. As such, the presence of a market economy would mean that there is an adaptation to supply and demand, economic agents being in search of higher profits. These two assumptions imply, traditionally, that a market economy has to be based on a monetary system, in its modern sense, which should rule out ancient trade from a relevant economic analysis. However, most of the current economists neglect that money is many things and not only an exchange value, besides the fact that there were many different exchange values during Antiquity. After exposing the social background at the root of commodities exchange, we propose to observe the connection between different ancient artefacts, social value and their trade pattern, in order to understand better the structure of ancient economy. Firstly, we wish to look more deeply into the case of the Torpedo-Levantine/Bettles A amphorae, ancient maritime packaging that were imitated by Egyptian workshops during the Classical era. Secondly, we will consider the example of the T- 7431 amphora type, a Carthaginian container adapted by the Gaditan and Malacitan workshops, and, finally, the case of tableware exchanges. These three different cases could offer relevant information on what should be called a marketing exercise, and its correlation with the structuration of ancient economy.
Bien qu’elles aient été isolées il y a plusieurs décennies, certaines formes d’amphores « punique... more Bien qu’elles aient été isolées il y a plusieurs décennies, certaines formes d’amphores « puniques » restaient difficiles à appréhender en raison de leur fabrication au cours de la période romaine. Plusieurs découvertes récentes ont permis d’identifier la production de certains de ces conteneurs au sein de l’espace du détroit de Gibraltar, après la seconde Guerre Punique (218-202 av. J.-C.). Face à l’importance et à la cohérence de la documentation concernant ces amphores, l’archéologie espagnole les a rassemblé dans un même groupe, celui des « amphores tardo-puniques ». Pour l’heure, cinq classes de conteneurs composent ce groupe, du fait de leurs chronologies commune et d’une mixité des traits typo-morphologiques commune, entre les traditions phéniciennes du détroit, puniques et romaines. La considération conjointe de ces types a été corroborée par une très large documentation, l’étude de ces amphores tardo-puniques représentant un nouvel axe de recherche. Néanmoins, de nombreuses...
International audienceThe T-7433 amphora type is a seemingly well-known series manufactured in se... more International audienceThe T-7433 amphora type is a seemingly well-known series manufactured in several workshopsof the Strait of Gibraltar region. These workshops were located in former Phoenicianand Punic settlements, both in Iberia and Mauritania. The type shows morphological featureslinked with coeval Carthaginian amphora repertories. However, with their production chronologydating to the period between 150 and 50 B.C., this group of transport vessels was solelyproduced in Roman times, and it was a “late Punic” production characteristic for the Strait ofGibraltar area. As such, this item can be considered a key indicator for the study of culturaland economic transformations in the 2nd and 1st centuries B. C., which are generally referredto as “Romanization”. A growing set of archaeological data are available regarding the manufacturepatterns and economic importance of the T-7433 type. However, recent discoverieshave provided new evidence and greatly modified the previous typologi...
The development of the Symmetrical Archaeology has recently offered new insights regarding the st... more The development of the Symmetrical Archaeology has recently offered new insights regarding the study of artifacts, not only in archaeology but also in others fields of the social sciences. However, although this theoretical perspective has provided a relevant framework for (re)connecting "humans and things", some question have been raised regarding the modalities of such relations. This contribution aims to offer some answers to these issues, by analyzing the production and diffusion of the Late-Punic amphorae-a group of specific ancient containers from the Late Republican era (2 nd c.-1 st c. BC)-from an interdisciplinary perspective. The confrontation of these empirical data with a wide conceptual framework leads us to propose a more detailed definition with respect to how and why humans and artifacts are interconnected, as it outlines the interest of the symmetric approach in performing a more common archaeological interpretation.
Manufactures and markets. The contributions of Hellenistic pottery to economies large and small. Proceedings of the fourth IARPotHP International Conference, Athens 2018 , 2022
This contribution aims to propose new perspectives concerning the link between commodities exchan... more This contribution aims to propose new perspectives concerning the link between commodities exchange and ancient trade, in relation to the implication of an eventual market economy and what could have been the social meaning of such economic system in Antiquity. In the actual economic theory, the Market is presented as a metaphoric space where economic agents are free to sell and buy goods, a definition that may be applied to some aspects of commodities exchange in the Hellenistic era. On the other hand, market economy implies a general and coherent system of coordinated exchange domains, regulated by a price system. As such, the presence of a market economy would mean that there is an adaptation to supply and demand, economic agents being in search of higher profits. These two assumptions imply, traditionally, that a market economy has to be based on a monetary system, in its modern sense, which should rule out ancient trade from a relevant economic analysis. However, most of the current economists neglect that money is many things and not only an exchange value, besides the fact that there were many different exchange values during Antiquity. After exposing the social background at the root of commodities exchange, we propose to observe the connection between different ancient artefacts, social value and their trade pattern, in order to understand better the structure of ancient economy. Firstly, we wish to look more deeply into the case of the Torpedo-Levantine/Bettles A amphorae, ancient maritime packaging that were imitated by Egyptian workshops during the Classical era. Secondly, we will consider the example of the T- 7431 amphora type, a Carthaginian container adapted by the Gaditan and Malacitan workshops, and, finally, the case of tableware exchanges. These three different cases could offer relevant information on what should be called a marketing exercise, and its correlation with the structuration of ancient economy.
Bien qu’elles aient été isolées il y a plusieurs décennies, certaines formes d’amphores « punique... more Bien qu’elles aient été isolées il y a plusieurs décennies, certaines formes d’amphores « puniques » restaient difficiles à appréhender en raison de leur fabrication au cours de la période romaine. Plusieurs découvertes récentes ont permis d’identifier la production de certains de ces conteneurs au sein de l’espace du détroit de Gibraltar, après la seconde Guerre Punique (218-202 av. J.-C.). Face à l’importance et à la cohérence de la documentation concernant ces amphores, l’archéologie espagnole les a rassemblé dans un même groupe, celui des « amphores tardo-puniques ». Pour l’heure, cinq classes de conteneurs composent ce groupe, du fait de leurs chronologies commune et d’une mixité des traits typo-morphologiques commune, entre les traditions phéniciennes du détroit, puniques et romaines. La considération conjointe de ces types a été corroborée par une très large documentation, l’étude de ces amphores tardo-puniques représentant un nouvel axe de recherche. Néanmoins, de nombreuses...
International audienceThe T-7433 amphora type is a seemingly well-known series manufactured in se... more International audienceThe T-7433 amphora type is a seemingly well-known series manufactured in several workshopsof the Strait of Gibraltar region. These workshops were located in former Phoenicianand Punic settlements, both in Iberia and Mauritania. The type shows morphological featureslinked with coeval Carthaginian amphora repertories. However, with their production chronologydating to the period between 150 and 50 B.C., this group of transport vessels was solelyproduced in Roman times, and it was a “late Punic” production characteristic for the Strait ofGibraltar area. As such, this item can be considered a key indicator for the study of culturaland economic transformations in the 2nd and 1st centuries B. C., which are generally referredto as “Romanization”. A growing set of archaeological data are available regarding the manufacturepatterns and economic importance of the T-7433 type. However, recent discoverieshave provided new evidence and greatly modified the previous typologi...
The development of the Symmetrical Archaeology has recently offered new insights regarding the st... more The development of the Symmetrical Archaeology has recently offered new insights regarding the study of artifacts, not only in archaeology but also in others fields of the social sciences. However, although this theoretical perspective has provided a relevant framework for (re)connecting "humans and things", some question have been raised regarding the modalities of such relations. This contribution aims to offer some answers to these issues, by analyzing the production and diffusion of the Late-Punic amphorae-a group of specific ancient containers from the Late Republican era (2 nd c.-1 st c. BC)-from an interdisciplinary perspective. The confrontation of these empirical data with a wide conceptual framework leads us to propose a more detailed definition with respect to how and why humans and artifacts are interconnected, as it outlines the interest of the symmetric approach in performing a more common archaeological interpretation.
A project to build a Catalogue of Roman Pottery Fabrics from the "Circle of the Strait&a... more A project to build a Catalogue of Roman Pottery Fabrics from the "Circle of the Strait" of Gibraltar is presented
Ex Baetica Amphorae II. Baetican preserves, oil and wine in the roman empire. Twenty years later, 2018
En las últimas décadas los avances en la caracterización de la producción de ánforas desarrollada... more En las últimas décadas los avances en la caracterización de la producción de ánforas desarrollada por las urbes de origen fenicio del sur de Iberia han sido notables, pero buena parte de ellos deben ser atribuidos a los hallazgos e investigaciones sistemáticas desarrollado en la bahía gaditana (en torno a la antigua Gadir). Sin embargo, este desarrollo desigual de la historiografía no ha ocultado el hecho de que en las urbes costeras de la parte mediterránea de la posterior Ulterior la fabricación de cerámicas, y concretamente de ánforas, también fue una actividad económica de primer orden desde época fenicia hasta la integración de estos territorios en la república de Roma. Las novedades aportadas por nuevas excavaciones, así como una mayor atención sobre aspectos arqueométricos y tipológicos, permiten ahora plantear una necesaria síntesis cuyo objetivo es esencialmente caracterizar la evolución de la producción anfórica de esta zona entre momentos avanzados de la etapa púnica y fases avanzadas del periodo republicano.
Welcome to the 5th Conference of the International Association for Research on Pottery of the Hel... more Welcome to the 5th Conference of the International Association for Research on Pottery of the Hellenistic Period “From East to West and Back Again: Societies, Economics and Ceramics in the Hellenistic World”. The main goal of the conference is to bring together researchers working all around the Mediterranean and adjacent areas to discuss the development of East-West connections in the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods through ceramics. Evidence for these developments may be revealed through typological changesto vessels and ceramic assemblages, as well as by archaeological evidence from shipwrecks and other specialized contexts related to production, consumption and trade patterns. During the next four days, researchers will be sharing their works through ve different topic sessions, two specialized panels and video posters available all along the conference. Although we are looking forward to meeting again face-to-face, we hope that this virtual experience will be satisfying for you all.
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Conference Presentations by Max Luaces
structuration of ancient economy.
Papers by Max Luaces
structuration of ancient economy.
The main goal of the conference is to bring together researchers working all around the Mediterranean and adjacent areas to discuss the development of East-West connections in the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods through ceramics. Evidence for these developments may be revealed through typological changesto vessels and ceramic assemblages, as well as by archaeological evidence from shipwrecks and other specialized contexts related to production, consumption and trade patterns.
During the next four days, researchers will be sharing their works through ve different topic sessions, two specialized panels and video posters available all along the conference. Although we are looking forward to meeting again face-to-face, we hope that this virtual experience will be satisfying for you all.