Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

Gold, Gucci handbags, a Malibu beach house – all are examples of what we value as a society. Ever step back and wonder, rules of economics aside, what the social reasons are for ascribing such value to these objects in the first place? What is the place of these items in the wider context of our modern social rituals? Join our host Dr. Schuldenrein and special guest Dr. Rowan Flad, who looks for the answer at an ancient salt production site in the eastern Sichuan Basin of China. It turns out that this narrow industry has much to tell us about how effective the standard models of economic anthropology are in understanding specialization at the emergence of complex societies. Explore the significance of this and other specialized industries in a broader economic and social context and learn how specialized craft production, ritual activity such as divination, and the social construction of value in ancient China were all closely intertwined.