Paleoeconomics Climate Change and Economic Development in Prehistory

About this book

This accessible and insightful textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the economics of prehistory. By presenting a chronological account of the beginnings of economics and human society, it charts the key developments in early human history, from the evolution of social norms and the colonizing of unknown continents, to the development of early technology and the transition to agricultural food production. Particular attention is given to how human capital, the natural environment, social capital, and the spread of knowledge and technical skills propelled economic development during prehistory. The origin of modern concerns, including wealth inequality, stratified societies, and environmental change, are thoughtfully presented by examining the birth of the first states and human civilization.

This book provides a thrilling account of human evolution and economic development from its African origins and hunter-gatherer days, through to the invention of agriculture and the rise of early states. Bringing together ideas from across economic history, the political economy, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, it will be relevant to students and general readers interested in these topics.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. African Origins
3. Human Capital Evolution in a Cooling Climate
4. Hunting and Gathering Homo sapiens
5. The Out-of-Africa Dispersal
6. Glacial Adaptations
7. Economic Organization on the Eve of Agriculture
8. Domestication of Plants, Animals and Humans
9. Theories of the Transition to Agriculture
10. Agricultural Intensification, Expansion and Trade
11. Institutional and Technological Development
12. Models of State Origins
13. First States I: Mesopotamia and Egypt
14. First States II: Indus, China, Peru and Mexico
15. End of Prehistory

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Biography

Ola Olsson is a Professor of Economics at the University of Gothenburg.