Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda
In recent years, studies on reuse practices in premodern societies have multiplied. Nonetheless, a linear model (production – usage – discard) is still widely employed for describing past economic systems. Integrating it with a circular model, instead of assuming that products were discarded after t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Open Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0301 |
| _version_ | 1797752431645294592 |
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| author | Bavuso Irene Furlan Guido Intagliata Emanuele E. Steding Julia |
| author_facet | Bavuso Irene Furlan Guido Intagliata Emanuele E. Steding Julia |
| author_sort | Bavuso Irene |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, studies on reuse practices in premodern societies have multiplied. Nonetheless, a linear model (production – usage – discard) is still widely employed for describing past economic systems. Integrating it with a circular model, instead of assuming that products were discarded after their usage, would greatly benefit our knowledge of ancient and medieval economies. In this work, we present a model of circular economy and define the terms used in this context. Thereafter, a possible agenda on how to study circularity both through archaeological material and written sources is traced. This covers archaeological fieldwork methods, as well as the process of interpretation and the re-evaluation of old data. It also proposes new strategies to use and read written sources to explore reuse practices. If different theoretical and methodological approaches are combined, a more holistic and vivid picture of premodern economies can be gained and help our understanding of how past societies used the resources available to them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:04:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b7240794407f49c1a1146f8099c0c0e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-6560 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:04:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7240794407f49c1a1146f8099c0c0e02023-08-07T06:57:02ZengDe GruyterOpen Archaeology2300-65602023-08-019142010.1515/opar-2022-0301Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future AgendaBavuso Irene0Furlan Guido1Intagliata Emanuele E.2Steding Julia3Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The NetherlandsSchool of Culture and Society, Centre for Urban Network Evolutions, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Cultural Heritage and Environment, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, ItalySchool of Culture and Society, Centre for Urban Network Evolutions, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DenmarkIn recent years, studies on reuse practices in premodern societies have multiplied. Nonetheless, a linear model (production – usage – discard) is still widely employed for describing past economic systems. Integrating it with a circular model, instead of assuming that products were discarded after their usage, would greatly benefit our knowledge of ancient and medieval economies. In this work, we present a model of circular economy and define the terms used in this context. Thereafter, a possible agenda on how to study circularity both through archaeological material and written sources is traced. This covers archaeological fieldwork methods, as well as the process of interpretation and the re-evaluation of old data. It also proposes new strategies to use and read written sources to explore reuse practices. If different theoretical and methodological approaches are combined, a more holistic and vivid picture of premodern economies can be gained and help our understanding of how past societies used the resources available to them.https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0301circular economyreuseurban archaeologyroman periodmedieval period |
| spellingShingle | Bavuso Irene Furlan Guido Intagliata Emanuele E. Steding Julia Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda Open Archaeology circular economy reuse urban archaeology roman period medieval period |
| title | Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda |
| title_full | Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda |
| title_fullStr | Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda |
| title_short | Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda |
| title_sort | circular economy in the roman period and the early middle ages methods of analysis for a future agenda |
| topic | circular economy reuse urban archaeology roman period medieval period |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0301 |
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