Ancient societies hold lessons for modern cities

Date:
June 19, 2020
Source:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Summary:
Today's modern cities, from Denver to Dubai, could learn a thing
or two from the ancient Pueblo communities that once stretched
across the southwestern United States. For starters, the more
people live together, the better the living standards.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Today's modern cities, from Denver to Dubai, could learn a thing or
two from the ancient Pueblo communities that once stretched across the southwestern United States. For starters, the more people live together,
the better the living standards.


==========================================================================
That finding comes from a study published today in the journal Science
Advances and led by Scott Ortman, an archaeologist at the University
of Colorado Boulder. He's one of a growing number of antiquarians
who argue that the world's past may hold the key to its future. What
lessons can people living today take from the successes and failures
of civilizations hundreds or thousands of years ago? Recently, Ortman
and Jose Lobo from Arizona State University took a deep dive into data
from the farming towns that dotted the Rio Grande Valley between the
14th and 16th centuries. Modern metropolises should take note: As the
Pueblo villages grew bigger and denser, their per capita production of
food and other goods seemed to go up, too.

Busy streets, in other words, may lead to better-off citizens.

"We see an increasing return to scale," said Ortman, an assistant
professor in the Department of Anthropology who is also affiliated with
the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. "The more people work together,
the more they produce per person." Whether the same thing is true today remains an open question, especially amid the unprecedented impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic on cities and human proximity. But the results
from the sunny Southwest suggest that it's an idea worth exploring.



==========================================================================
"The archaeological record can help us to learn about issues we care
about today in ways that we can't do using the data available to us from
modern societies," Ortman said.

The good dishes The research is an offshoot of an effort that Ortman
leads called the Social Reactors Project, which has explored patterns
of growth in civilizations from ancient Rome to the Incan world.

It's an attempt to chase down an idea first proposed in the 18th century
by Adam Smith, often known as the father of modern economics. In The
Wealth of Nations, Smith made the case for the fundamental benefits of
market size - - that if you make it easier for more people to trade,
the economy will grow.

Just look at any city in the U.S. where you might find a hair salon next
to a bakery next to a doggie daycare.



==========================================================================
"As people interact more frequently, a person can make and do fewer things themselves and get more of what they need from their social contacts,"
Ortman said.

The problem, he explained, is that such "agglomeration-driven" growth is difficult to isolate in today's big and complex cities. The same isn't
true for the Rio Grande Valley.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century, hundreds of
villages spanned the region near what is now Santa Fe. These settlements
ranged in size from a few dozen residents to as many as 3,000 people,
most of whom made their living by growing crops like maize and cotton.

Such a subsistence lifestyle didn't mean that these communities were
simple.

"The traditional view in ancient history was that economic growth didn't
happen until the onset of the industrial revolution," Ortman said.

He and Lobo decided to put that assumption to the test. The duo pored
through an exhaustive database of archaeological finds from the region
-- capturing everything from the number and size of rooms in Pueblo
communities to the pottery from rubbish heaps.

They unearthed a clear trend: When villages got more populous, their
residents seemed to get better off on average -- exactly as Smith
predicted. Living spaces grew in size and families collected more
painted pottery.

"You might think of it as more sets of dishes for sharing meals together," Ortman said.

Social connection That growth, the team discovered, also seemed to follow
a pattern that researchers on the Social Reactors Project have seen in
a range of civilizations throughout history. Every time villages doubled
in size, markers of economic growth increased by about 16% on average.

Ortman said that the effect doesn't happen in the same way
everywhere. Factors like inequality and racism, for example, can keep
urban residents from working together even when they live in cramped
spaces.

But, Ortman added, these Pueblo communities hold an important lesson for modern-day societies: the more people can connect with others, the more prosperous they become.

"All other things being equal, urbanization should lead to improvements
in the material conditions of life for people everywhere," he said. "We
suspect this is why the world continues to urbanize, despite all of the associated problems."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Colorado_at_Boulder. Original written by Daniel
Strain. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Scott Ortman and Jose' Lobo. Smithian growth in a nonindustrial
society.

Science Advances, 2020 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba5694 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200619143444.htm

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