What is it about?
Article on the fluctuation of the prices of food and wool in Babylonia (c. 400 - 60 BC) as indicator of market performance. The prices were meticulously noted by Babylonian astronomers in their astronomical diaries.
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Why is it important?
Certainly the most detailed record of commodity prices from the ancient world. Important tool for the study of markets.
Perspectives
Further studies on market performance over 4000 years: R.J. van der Spek, Bas van Leeuwen, Jan Luiten van Zanden (eds.), A History of Market Performance from Ancient Babylonia to the Modern World. London: Routledge 2015.
Prof. dr. Robartus J. van der Spek
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Volatility of Prices of Barley and Dates in Babylon in the Third and Second Centuries BC, August 2014, JSTOR,
DOI: 10.2307/j.ctvh1dn9m.15.
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