Political Economy

Ancient economic and political systems are the foci of several ASU research projects. Archaeological political economy takes a global and historical perspective on past agrarian societies. The topics in political economy addressed by our faculty in various parts of the world include the organization of craft production and distribution (especially topics related to ceramics), rural-urban interaction and regional economies, agricultural intensification, household consumption patterns, and pre-capitalist commercialization. Archaeological research on political economy at ASU has a strong basis in fieldwork and commonly employs a variety of scientific methods of artifact characterization.

Key faculty:
Steven E. Falconer
Arleyn W. Simon
Michael E. Smith
Barbara L. Stark
Aribidesi Usman (Department of African American Studies)

• Back to List of Research Themes
• List of ASU Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, and Paleoanthropology Faculty
• List of current research projects by archaeology faculty (pdf)
• Applying to Graduate School in Archaeology, Keith Kintigh SAA Archaeological Record 4(3): 9-12, (May 2004; pdf)
• SHESC home page ||/

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