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Chapter Ten - Trade and the Hillfort Chiefdoms of Bronze Age Ireland

from Part III - The Role of Political Economy and Elite Control in Long-Distance Exchange

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2022

By
William O’Brien
Edited by
Johan Ling ,
Richard J. Chacon  and
Kristian Kristiansen
Johan Ling
Affiliation:
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Richard J. Chacon
Affiliation:
Winhrop University, South Carolina
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Summary

A notable feature of the European Bronze Age is that many regions were able to establish successful metalworking traditions based partly or entirely on imported metal supplies. Geological controls on the distribution of metal resources, together with various technological constraints and limited sharing of mining and metallurgical expertise, meant that some areas emerged as strong producers of primary metal, while others relied on trade for their needs. The exchange of metal, through whatever agency, created economic dependency and was an important channel for the spread of other cultural influences. Control of metal circulation by individuals or groups for their own benefit had important implications in terms of economic power and the political control exercised by these emerging elites.

Type
Chapter
Information
Trade before Civilization
Long Distance Exchange and the Rise of Social Complexity
 , pp. 230 - 250
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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