An important concept used in archaeological and anthropological study for the past 150 years or more is that of exchange systems or trade networks. Exchange systems are the way consumers connect with producers of goods, services and ideas.
Pochteca Traders with Their Cargo. Illustration from the Florentine Codex, Late 16th century.
Our modern exchange system often involves the Internet: in fact your reading this blog at this moment is an example of our exchange system at work. But those modern exchange systems have been developed from many millennia of bartering, trading and redistribution, all of which is reflected in the archaeological record.
- Read more about Exchange Systems
- Sourcing
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