Abstract:

The economic and political implications of commodity exchange in the mediaeval Mediterranean have been the subject of extensive study by historians and archaeologists. In recent years anthropologists and archaeologists working in other regions and historical periods have begun to focus greater attention upon the cultural aspects of commodity exchange. The functions performed by a commodity, and the value consequently accorded to it, may be subject to considerable variation across cultural boundaries. The control of both exotic imported commodities themselves and the information concerning their functions and provenance may form part of the ideologies of political elites. These issues are explored in a case study based on a luxury commodity, balsam. It is argued that greater attention needs to be paid to the role of information in the exchange of luxury commodities across cultural and political boundaries in the mediaeval Mediterranean.

Author: Marcus Milwright