#weights

#weights

Bronze Age Merchants of Europe Established a Standardized System of WeightsHistorians have long assumed that weight standards - a necessity for trading goods of equal value before the invention of coins - were first established by kings or religious authorities as a means to levy taxes and tributes.But that didn't seem to be the case in Europe. There, it was Bronze Age merchants that established a standardized system of weights through informal networks that spread across Europe to enable trade across the continent 3000 years ago.From Science:To [the researchers'] surprise, more than 2000 such objects crafted over the course of 2000 years and an area spanning nearly 5000 kilometers weighed nearly the same amount—between 8 and 10.5 grams from Great Britain to Mesopotamia. Over the time spans involved, the consistency was remarkable, they report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “It is like we were still using the Roman systems of measurement [today], with just some minor variations,” Ialongo says....The researchers suggest that in all these areas it was merchants who kept the weights standard, because it was in their interest to do so. Each time traders met, the archaeologists write, they would bring out their own scales and weights and compare them—or introduce them to new traders. With enough time and contacts, a standard system emerged—laying the groundwork for the equivalent of an integrated market from Great Britain to Babylon. “The weight units were regulated by the market,” Ialongo says.Image: Ialongo et al.#economy #archaeology #merchant #FreeMarket #standards #weights #BronzeAge