economy

Hyperinflation is commonly caused by rapidly printing currency, and the Yuan dynasty printed non-stop to fund war. Shown: Bills from the Xuantong era (1909-1911) Source: Public Domain

4 January, 2023 - 00:59 Sahir

Did the Yuan Dynasty's Use of Paper Money Cause Hyperinflation?

Although China’s pre-revolution hyperinflation during the 1940s is the one that one often hears about, there is a less-documented hyperinflation that occurred in ancient China. The first civilization...

Mansa Musa’s travels through Egypt changed the country’s economy for over a decade. Source: HistoryNmoor/CC BY-SA 4.0

29 July, 2022 - 01:59 Alicia McDermott

Mansa Musa, History’s Richest Man, Wrecked Egypt’s Economy Just by Passing Through

In 2022, Forbes has named Elon Musk as the richest person in the world today. But his $219 billion is said to be nothing compared to the tremendous wealth of a 14th Century West African ruler named...

A painting of the Antonine plague, by painter Joseph Wannenmacher, which was the beginning of the end for the western Roman Empire. Source: ChrisSchweigi / CC BY-SA 3.0

22 April, 2022 - 01:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Antonine Plague and the Downfall of the Roman Empire

The Antonine plague, which happened between 165 and 180 AD, was a disastrous pandemic deemed so catastrophic that many historians have argued that it was the first major event to usher in the decline...

30 January, 2021 - 21:49 ashley cowie

Chumash Cash: The Saucers That Formed America’s First Economy

A Californian researcher who studied tens of thousands of shells decorated by indigenous Chumash hunter-gatherers, has pushed back the origins of “cash” in the U.S. by over one thousand years. Dr...

traditional craftsman creates silver money

13 December, 2020 - 13:09 ashley cowie

Desperate, The Tribes of Israel Turned to "Fake Silver"

Iron Age silver forgeries have been identified by a team of Israeli researchers. This might illustrate the economic hardships of the Tribes of Israel and their decision to make fake silver...

Painting titled ‘Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape.’ Life changed for American women as the eighteenth century progressed. Source: Public Domain

11 August, 2020 - 23:08 Anthony Ruggiero

Culturally Misunderstood: The Struggles and Advances of Early American Women

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw a series of transitions in life in America, as many, particularly women, strove to find their identities in patriarchal society. Early American women were...

Researchers have solved the mystery of the origins of the best Roman glass. Source: cascoly2 /Adobe Stock

6 August, 2020 - 14:05 Ed Whelan

Scientists Prove Rome’s Ancient Glass Was Not From Rome!

Many of the Roman elite enjoyed notoriously luxurious lifestyles. For example, Senators and nobles liked to drink from transparent glasses which were of the highest quality. The origin of the best...

The Roman economy represents an ancient economy that was large and powerful enough to create an empire that spanned the Mediterranean and lasted several centuries. Source: Manuel Gross / Adobe Stock

23 July, 2020 - 18:58 Caleb Strom

Following the Boom and Bust of the Roman Economy

The Roman Empire is ironically known for both its greatness and its weaknesses. The Roman economy is no exception. The Roman economy represents an ancient economy that was large and powerful enough...

Medieval town of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Source: Gaschwald / Adobe Stock

10 May, 2020 - 01:55 ancient-origins

Medieval Europe’s Waves of Plague Also Required an Economic Action Plan

Kriston R. Rennie / The Conversation The Black Death (1347-51) devastated European society. Writing four decades after the event, the English monk and chronicler, Thomas Walsingham, remarked that “so...

The famous Lions Gate into the hill fortress where Mycenaean armies originated.

18 July, 2019 - 19:26 Riley Winters

The Fall of a Civilization: The Mysterious Collapse of the Mycenaean Bronze Age

"In most cases, collapse results from multiple, 'cascading' stress factors—politico-economic, demographic, and sociocultural as well as environmental…relational aspects, arguing that factors such as...

The hoard of copper axe and axe hammer heads from the 5th millennium BC is said to be Europe’s largest Chalcolithic find of its kind.

12 January, 2019 - 12:26 Ed Whelan

27 Pounds of Copper Age Axe and Hammer Heads is the Largest European Hoard of its Kind

Ancient societies’ ability to manufacture metal objects was critical in the development of civilization. This is why any finds of metallic goods or tools from the prehistoric past is so important for...

A Mayan lord sits before an individual with a container of frothed chocolate.

28 June, 2018 - 22:55 Ed Whelan

Failed Crops Caused Economic Crash for Mayan Chocolate Currency

An academic study has made a remarkable claim about the role of chocolate in ancient Mayan society. An archaeologist is arguing that chocolate was used as money by the ancient Maya. That is right,...

Remains of the house of scribe Butehamun at Medinet Habu, design by Anand Balaji.

8 September, 2017 - 15:30 anand balaji

The Hunt for Herihor: Butehamun and the Death of the Royal Necropolis–Part II

Sometime around Regnal Year 17 or 19 of Pharaoh Ramesses XI matters took a turn for the worse, due in no small measure to civil unrest and a failing economy. The northern and southern parts of the...

The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, surrounded and decisively defeated a larger army of the Roman Republic

16 August, 2017 - 13:58 Theodoros Karasavvas

Analysis of Roman Coins Proves Roman Empire Got Rich on Iberian Silver

An analysis of Roman coins has revealed information about the defeat of the Carthaginian General Hannibal and the rise of the Roman Empire . The scientists who examined them suggest that the defeat...

Roman tax collector calculating someone's taxes on an abacus

2 August, 2017 - 19:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Can You Imagine a Taxation System Where the Wealthy Competed to Pay the Highest Taxes? It Really Happened!

Can you imagine a progressive tax system that motivates the wealthiest members of society to voluntarily pay large amounts of tax instead of implementing tax avoidance schemes, as is currently the...

Sirakawa-go, Ogimachi Gassho Village, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

3 April, 2017 - 01:51 marinasohma

Historic Houses for the Silkworm! The Grand Attics of the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

Located in the central Gifu Prefecture, not very far from Tokyo or Kyoto, a beautiful example of traditional Japanese architecture survives in the villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. Some of the...