Objective
This project explores the economical and societal transformations provoked by weights and measures during the Bronze Age in Western Eurasia. The impact and significance of weight-based measures for value assessments during the Bronze Age is largely unknown und understudied. My objective is to unravel this empirical and intellectual gap in studies of the prehistoric and ancient economy. The project will uncover new sources for the reconstruction of trade and exchange networks due to the identification of a mostly overlooked or ignored class of artefacts: early balance weights. This opens up a new understanding of the nature and extent of the earliest commercial economies in the world. The ambitious project aims to document for the first time potential weights, often of unexpected simple shape, as well as canonical weights, frequently not sufficiently documented in a selection of cases studies between the Atlantic and the Indus. Further focus will be on potential mass-related finished metal objects, standardization and pre-coinage currencies, contributing to the debate on the origins of money. Specific statistical methods and 3D scanning provide a novel tool package to verify assumptions in a rigorous way. Hypotheses to be tested include identifying the potential correlation of the emergence of weight metrology to elucidating the first extensive trade in raw material (like silver, tin), the connection of weights to other administrative and commercial tools like seals and script, and their impact of early conceptions of value. The early dissemination of weights and weighing systems will be analysed systematically on evidence from the Bronze Age in Western Eurasia. The proposed research starts with identifying and documenting potential balance weights and mass related objects by archaeological indications and the rigorous application of various statistical methods, but progresses to developing and testing models of exchange and transfer of innovations.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- humanities history and archaeology history ancient history
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry post-transition metals
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-CoG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
37073 Gottingen
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.