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Tate Paulette
7.3. Chronological chart showing the primary archaeological divisions (Early, Middle,
and Late Bronze Age) and the corresponding, region-specific subdivisions of the
Bronze Age in Mesopotamia (3000–1200 BC); also includes the preceding Late
Chalcolithic period and the succeeding Early Iron Age.
bodies played an important role in city governance, the centralized political
and religious organizations (“the palace” and “the temple”) emerged as major
economic powers, managing huge tracts of land and able to mobilize labor on
a massive scale. Many people were dependent on these institutions for their
livelihoods, and institutional demands for taxes, tribute, and labor became an
ever-present fact of life (e.g., Powell 1987).
It is often unclear, however, exactly how institutional interference impacted
the domestic economy of individual households. Did the imposition of institu-
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