The Uruk World System by Guillermo Algaze
The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization
Examines how, in the fourth millennium BCE, southern Mesopotamian urban centers expanded across the Near East to create a core-periphery network of colonies and exchange outposts that secured raw materials and channeled regional trade. Drawing on archaeological evidence from sites in northern Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and Iran, it emphasizes administrative standardization, transport advantages, and staple finance as key mechanisms of growth. The study interprets this expansion as an early world-system whose economic and organizational strategies reshaped neighboring societies and accelerated urbanization and state formation. It also addresses debates over colonization versus cultural interaction and the unequal power relations underpinning this interconnected landscape.
- Published
- 1993
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 150-200
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
- None
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