Bronze Age merchants were able to trade goods using common weight systems
That is verdict of German scientists who claim there was self- regulating market
It meant a merchant could travel across Europe without changing set of weights
Researchers say it showed a global network regulating itself from the bottom-up
Merchants of the Bronze Age had a self-regulating market which allowed them to trade goods across Europe using common weight systems, a study has claimed.
It meant a trader 4,000 years ago could travel from ancient Mesopotamia to the Aegean and from there on to Central Europe without having to change their own set of weights because similar systems were in use.
Researchers say this is evidence of a global network regulating itself from the bottom-up because there was no international authority that could have regulated the accuracy of weight systems over such a wide territory and long time span.
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In Europe, beyond the Aegean, centralised authorities did not even exist at the time.
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