"The following review of the archeological and document evidence indicates that three events occurring in the first half of the first millennium BC trigger the emergence of a specialized and integrated classical economy after 500 BC: (i) growth in demand for silver as a medium of exchange in economies in the Near East; (ii) technical breakthroughs in hull construction and sailing rig in merchant shipping of the late Bronze Age; (iii) perfection of ferrous metallurgy into the European hinterland."

Grantham, G. (2021). THE PREHISTORIC ORIGINS OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. Social Philosophy and Policy, 38(2), 261-306. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265052522000140 #OpenAccess #OA #Journal #Article #Economics #Philosophy #Economy #Europe #Trade #BronzeAge #IronAge #History #Agriculture #Writing #Literacy #Academia #Academic #Academics @economics @econhist @philosophy