Labor in the Ancient World (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9783981484236)

The fifth volume in this series sponsored by the International Scholars Conference on Ancient Near Eastern Economies (ISCANEE) and the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET) offers case studies on how labor was mobilized and remunerated in the early Near East and Mediterranean world. The initially voluntary character of labor on public building projects evolved into corvee as the primary way of obtaining labor. Among other characteristics are the minor significance of slave labor; the role of large building projects as a tool of social and political integration; the use of hired workers as a way of dealing with the systemic shortage of labor, and the practice of compensating the employees of "large organizations" with salaries in food and/or land allotments. By late Neolithic times the obligation to supply corvee labor services became the basis for assigning land tenure. The historical data demonstrate that the corvee labor tax became the basis for assigning property rights, not a later intrusion on these rights.

Author: Piotr Steinkeller
ISBN-10: 3981484231
ISBN-13: 9783981484236
Publisher: Islet-Verlag
Language: English
Published: 12/31/2015
Pages: 672
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.95lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.35d