3 ms·
I'm not convinced by "complex hierarchies and taxation schemes". It sounds just as plausible that grain was one of the first really tradeable forms of food, so
by Smaug123 11y ago
I'm not convinced by "complex hierarchies and taxation schemes". It sounds just as plausible that grain was one of the first really tradeable forms of food, so people became able to trade non-food-related skills for food, with people from further away. Your ability to do this is badly limited if you're using wet foods like potatoes, because you are only able to trade with people fairly nearby before the potatoes start sprouting; but with grain you can send your son off to the market three hours' wagon-ride away with a month's worth of crop, for instance.
- harigov 11y agoIsn't that the point behind the article? That the kind of foods that you produce has a bearing on the progress of the society itself.
- azernik 11y agoYou're thinking on too small a scale. One of the most important commercial activities in the Roman Empire was the importation of grain from across the Mediterranean (especially from Egypt) to the capital. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_Annonae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_Annonae