Bronze Age Maritime and Warrior Dynamics in Island East Asia

by Mark Hudson

Recent interdisciplinary studies, combining scientific techniques such as ancient DNA analysis with humanistic re-evaluations of the transcultural value of bronze, have presented archaeologists with a fresh view of the Bronze Age in Europe. The new research emphasises long-distance connectivities and political decentralisation. 'Bronzisation' is discussed as a type of proto-globalisation. In this Element, Mark Hudson examines whether these approaches can also be applied to East Asia. Focusing primarily on Island East Asia, he analyses trade, maritime interactions and warrior culture in a comparative Eurasian framework. He argues that the international division of labour associated with Bronze Age trade provided an important stimulus to the rise of decentralised complexity in regions peripheral to alluvial states. Building on James Scott's work, the concept of the 'barbarian niche' is proposed as a way to model the longue durée of premodern Eurasian history. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2022

About the author

I went from the school of hard knocks into the Army 82nd Airborne. When I got out of the service I started a retail security job that did not pay the bills; I worked every odd job and under the table cash jobs I could find.

I have always loved to read, and I liked to write short stories. When I "retired" a bit early I decided to put my writing to the test, now multiple Gordan Hudde books in, I'm looking for readers to take my writing to the next step!

My Retail Investigator book was fun and I have been getting many good reviews, maybe I should write a biography to include my military service?

Feel free to contact me, let me know how I'm doing!