Pollen points to capitalism in ancient Greece

The next time your spring allergies start acting up, don't be too cross with the pollen causing them, because hundreds of years from now, it may provide palynology scientists and researchers with valuable clues about the vegetation around you and the changes that the landscape has undergone.

The history of the environment is also intrinsically linked to the history of mankind, and a new study published in The Economic Journal (Oxford University Press) tells us of the existence of an export-oriented market economy in Archaic and Classical Greece that specialized in olive oil and wine.

The paper "Landscape Change and Trade in Ancient Greece: Evidence from Pollen Data" is the result of an interdisciplinary study by an international team of five researchers who examined 115 pollen assemblages dating between 1000-600 BC from six locations in southern Greece. Combining...