Weights and measures as a social construct: Anthropological perspectives on ancient metrology

This paper aims to demonstrate the value of applying economic and anthropological approaches to a frequently overlooked subject: market instruments, such as weights, measures and coins. The crucial role played by ancient weights (the standard of mass) and measures (the standard of volume) in ancient Greek economies has not been sufficiently recognised, in the same way as the role played by coins (the standard of value). These instruments are closely linked and must be studied together, from the perspectives of historical metrology, trade archaeology and economic history. Historical anthropology has never focused on ancient Greek weights and measures, despite its successful application to Greek coinage. To address this, historical anthropology, which is devoted to the study of value and exchange, enables us to study the ‘social life’ of artefacts, from their production to their destruction.