7. Conclusion : Cultural commodities and the future of oil and wine 3. Controlling the relationship : oil and wine in the Mycenaean Palatial Era -- 4. Maintaining the relationship : oil and wine in Postpalatial Greece -- 5. Rebuilding the relationship : oil and wine in Early Iron Age Greece -- 6. Expanding the relationship : oil and wine in the Early Archaic Period -- 7. Conclusion : Cultural commodities and the future of oil and wine
Summary:
"In this book, Catherine E. Pratt explores how oil and wine became increasingly entangled in Greek culture, from the Late Bronze Age to the Archaic period. Using ceramic, architectural, and archaeobotanical data, she argues that Bronze Age exchange practices initiated a strong network of dependency between oil and wine production, and the people who produced, exchanged, and used them. After the palatial collapse, these prehistoric connections intensified during the Iron Age and evolved into the large-scale industries of the Classical period. Pratt argues that oil and wine in pre-Classical Greece should be considered 'cultural commodities', products that become indispensable for proper social and economic exchanges well beyond economic advantage. Offering a detailed diachronic account of the changing roles of surplus oil and wine in the economies of pre-classical Greek societies, her book contributes to a broader understanding of the complex interconnections between agriculture, commerce, and culture in the ancient Mediterranean"-- Back cover. "This book aims to explore the centrality of olive oil and wine in various realms of ancient Greek life and how this interdependence came to exist and persist. Indeed, this book argues that oil and wine can be regarded not just as economic commodities, but cultural commodities that actively shaped the paths of ancient Greek history. Cultural commodities can be defined as things that have become deeply entangled with humans through increasing ties of dependency that are reinforced by a high value constructed within multiple contexts of exchange. On the one hand, expansions and contractions of dependencies between people and oil/wine can be seen by tracing shifting emphases in exchange modes-such as commensal, gift, and commercial exchange-within their social and environmental contexts over the long-term"-- From the introduction.
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