It is a fact of life that most social scientists - economists included - refuse to recognize.
* * * * * J B K * * * * *
San Francisco
Thus far, archaeologists have unearthed evidence of this society's trade in obsidian and production and development of copper processing, as well as the existence of a social elite that used stone seals to mark ownership of goods and culturally significant items.
"The project addresses questions not only of how such societies emerged but how they were sustained and flourished," said John Yellen, program director for archaeology in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences directorate. NSF supports the University of Chicago's research.
Covering about 31 acres, Tell Zeidan was situated where the Balikh River joins the Euphrates River in modern-day Syria. The location was at the crossroads of major, ancient trade routes in Mesopotamia that followed the course of the Euphrates River valley. The Ubaid period lasted from about 5300 to 4000 B.C.
"This enigmatic period saw the first development of widespread irrigation, agriculture, centralized temples, powerful political leaders and the first emergence of social inequality as communities became divided into wealthy elites and poorer commoners," said Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute and a leader of the expedition.
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116636&org=NSF&from=news
