Applications of Behavioral Economics: Understanding the Effects of Roman Conquest on Late Iron Age Castro Culture Ceramic Production

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Through a comparative analysis of ceramic materials from three archaeological sites, including Bracara Augusta, the Citânia de Briteiros, and the Cividade de Bagunte, this research explores the effects of Romanization on the production and use of ceramic materials from the Castro Culture of northwest Portugal. This research applies several principles from Behavioral Economics to study the possible mechanisms that influenced consumer decision making as well as the risk tolerance of a producer’s willingness to engage in production-related activities whose outcome is uncertain (Cosgel 2009:85). As imported Roman wares were introduced, there was a growing demand by local groups to obtain these items. As these ceramic forms became esteemed, social preference for them would have increased. A potter’s choice to begin producing imitation wares carried a low risk tolerance because the demand for low cost imitations likely would have been profitable. Thus, the production of imitation wares indicates that local potters were adapting to a changing economy as well as changing social preferences. This research aims to demonstrate how the effects on production and use of pottery within this region derived from both social and economic demands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24609