Global Dynamics of Inequality II

The Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) Project aims to describe and explain Holocene trends in wealth inequality through time, building on input from almost 2 dozen archaeologists from throughout Eurasia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Our proposed WG meeting follows an organizational meeting at the University of Oxford in Fall 2021. We now have our initial data collection behind us and begin the process of synthesis in which our various data sets confront each other. Major topics for discussion include: resolution of data problems; recognition of lacunae; first description of patterns; exploration of promising routes for statistical analyses; and agreement on forms of, and schedules and responsibilities for, reporting. We seek to contribute to current discussions on the sources of wealth inequality in prehistory and the contexts supporting higher or lower inequality (including agricultural regimes); the relationship of inequality with modes of governance and polity scale; dynamic relationships between inequality and violence; and the strengths and weaknesses of various archaeological proxies for measuring inequality and how these behave (and may be calibrated) in contemporary societies.