Pre-modern cities and historical methods

what is a city, according to smith?

a natural center of civilization built from “density, diversity, a stable of economy of scale”. include markets, ritual buildings, landscape of verticality.

what kinds of evidence and methods does she use to create knowledge about cities?

trash provides evidence about how cities functioned and what cities consumed. historical accounts, samples taken from ground, comparing old and new.

What did scholars believe?

cities came about because a series of “revolutions” in how we produce what we need to survive, which leads to developing larger, settled societies (V. Gordon Childe).

What we know about early cities ?

the data and limitations

the data

comes from archaeology, physical artifacts

the limitations

only the most durable or lucky data tends to be the stuff that was monumental.

nature of cities and early cities big similarities

interaction with strangers, diversity, inequality, productions and consumption at scale with lots of trash, complex infrastructure

biggest things in common

constant change, complexity and changes: culture, arts, physical spaces, social arrangements