The Archaeology of Money

3 credits · Undergraduate

Topics in trade and economy dominate contemporary archaeological studies of human societies. The role of money - what it is, and how it functions - remains central to these investigations. As such, this course provides students with the foundations necessary to understand the history of money, not only in the material sense of Lydian coins or Chinese paper notes, but as a means of purchase and payment distinguishable from non-monetary practices of gift and commodity exchange. Course readings provide the case studies, arguments, and intellectual framing for students to tackle the questions that underlie the most basic assumptions about money: What is it? Where does it come from? Why does it still exist?