Contextualising ceramic production at Satricum: An economic perspective on Archaic and early Roman South Latium

This paper contextualises the evidence for ceramic production at Satricum within regional developments in settlement, demography and social organisation between the Archaic and mid-Republican period. It is argued that concepts from economic theory (friction of distance, agglomeration effects and transaction costs) provide a useful perspective on the economy of Archaic Latium, and that besides reciprocity and redistribution, market exchange played a considerable role in the economy. Furthermore, the regional archaeological record suggests that both economic conditions (demand/market potential) and socio-political circumstances changed over time, and that these changes had a profound impact on the scale and organisation of ceramic production.