COMMERCE AND CULTURE IN SOUTH-ASIA - PERSPECTIVES FROM ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY

This review examines aspects of the trajectory of economic change in S outh Asia, particularly the development of markets, money, commercial production, and certain specialized economic institutions, in light of the longer historical experience of posturban polities. A review of a rchaeological and historical evidence from the Early Historic (500 sc- AD 500) through the Middle Period (AD 500-1600) highlights several con sistent themes: urbanization and related transformation of settlement; monetization and the increasing role of production for markets; the v olatile relationship between long-distance exchange and local politica l and economic structure; the intensification of production; and the s hifting roles of religious and other institutions such as monasteries, temples, and guilds.