Karl Polanyi for Historians: An Alternative Economic Narrative

The purpose of this essay is to provide the historian with a generic understanding of the term economy by examining some aspects of the work of the Hungarian “economic historian” Karl Polanyi (1886–1964). It does not seek to explain Polanyi's economic ideas to economists nor does it seek to locate his ideas within the discourses of the academic discipline of economics; there is abundant academic literature which carries out those tasks. This essay is intended to help fill a void in the historical understanding, especially the modern historical understanding, of the term economy, and of how the characteristics associated with it are generally understood. Yet, in reality, it is the neoclassical paradigm of economics which is typically and uncritically taken to be the touchstone for understanding the economy. This circumstance is problematic, however, when referring to the economy of societies earlier than the late nineteenth century or of societies whose culture differs radically from that of the advanced capitalist “west.” Polanyi's insights may help historians avoid the risk of either distorting or anachronistically misunderstanding the economy of such societies.     

Rethinking Mississippian copper symbol badges: two previously unreported examples from east Alabama

ABSTRACT

Traditional interpretation of Mississippian copper symbol badges is that they were prestige items associated with both inherited and earned status. In this article we review the current state of knowledge regarding copper symbol badges, introduce two previously unreported examples from the Big Tallassee (1MC1) and Abercrombie (1RU61) sites, and propose a new interpretation for the circulation and disposition of copper symbol badges during the Mississippian and Protohistoric periods. We argue that these objects were initially incorporated into headdresses (worn in both life and death) at major Mississippian towns and then were later transformed into inalienable possessions associated with particular beings, people, or places as large polities collapsed and new political entities were formed.     

Bring Me Three Large Beers: Wooden Tankards at Roman Vindolanda

This paper presents, and places in context, two tankard staves and part of a lathe‐turned tankard base, all made from yew wood (Taxus baccata), identified as part of a review of over 1500 wooden small finds from the Roman fort of Vindolanda. These were originally part of large, skilfully produced, communal drinking vessels of a type that has recently been the subject of a major review. Wooden tankards of this type are currently considered to be at their earliest a Late Iron Age phenomenon but one which extends well into the Roman period and which has, so far, been recognized predominantly within Britain. The three elements, found at Vindolanda, must have derived from three separate vessels and come from different periods within the site. This paper explores, adds to and amplifies current thinking on the construction, use and discard of these vessels and, in particular, considers how the tankards were perceived within the context of a Roman fort.