Sustaining Civilizations: An Examination of Pastoral Production in Three Complex Societies

Abstract

The development of this model suggests that in societies with low social and economic complexity that pastoral production will be generalized, with very little focus on any single domestic species or product. In the case of the Mesopotamian State, the tributary economy demands a highly specialized focus on the production of ovicaprines and their secondary products, namely wool. By the Islamic Period, currency and a system of taxation as opposed to tribute allows for an economy that focuses on optimization of all taxa and their products.