What is it about?
High wealth inequality in human societies over the past 10,000 years was encouraged by land-intensive food acquisition strategies, such as expansive farming systems. Where land became scarce, wealth inequality often grew among households, but where land was abundant, wealth was more equally distributed. Governance could also moderate these differences.
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Why is it important?
We used a global database of ancient houses and settlements to chart changing wealth inequality among households through time. This dataset enables us to test longstanding questions about the causes of high wealth inequality.
Perspectives
This study is the outcome of a collective effort by researchers working all over the world. It demonstrates how wide collaborations can address fundamental questions about the past that have an urgent relevance today.
Amy Bogaard
University of Oxford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Labor, land, and the global dynamics of economic inequality, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400694122.
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