A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity Volume 1

"The origins of the modern, Western concept of money can be traced back to the earliest electrum coins that were produced in Asia Minor in the seventh century BCE. While other forms of currency (shells, jewelry, silver ingots) were in widespread use long before this, the introduction of coinage aided and accelerated momentous economic, political, and social developments such as long-distance trade, wealth creation (and the social differentiation that followed from that), and the financing of military and political power. Coinage, though adopted inconsistently across different ancient societies, became a significant marker of identity and became embedded in practices of religion and superstition. And this period also witnessed the emergence of the problems of money - inflation, monetary instability, and the breakup of monetary unions - which have surfaced repeatedly in succeeding centuries. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of technologies, ideas, ritual and religion, the everyday, art and representation, interpretation, and the issues of the age."--.. A Cultural History of Money presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. The set of six volumes charts how money has made the world go around over four millennia and how its multiple materialities and meanings have shaped, and been shaped by, the broader social and cultural world around it. 1. A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity (2500 BCE-500 CE) 2. A Cultural History of Money in the Medieval Age (500-1400) 3. A Cultural History of Money in the Renaissance (1400-1680) 4. A Cultural History of Money in the Age of Enlightenment (1680-1820) 5. A Cultural History of Money in the Age of Empire (1820-1920) 6. A Cultural History of Money in the Modern Age (1920-present) Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters: 1. Money and its Technologies 2. Money and its Ideas 3. Money and Religion 4. Money and the Everyday 5. Money and Art (or Visual Representations) 6. Money and its Interpretation (or Verbal Representations) 7. Money and the Issues of the Age This structure offers readers a broad overview of a period within each volume or the opportunity to follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter across volumes. The full six-volume set, which is generously illustrated, combines to present the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on money in history