Ólafía : rit Fornleifafræðingafélags Íslands. - 01.05.2007, Page 108

The theory is developed by the
American sociologist Immanuel Waller-
stein who with his major work The
Modern World—System: Capitalist
Agriculture and the Origins of the
European World - Economy in the
Sixteenth Century (1974) sets the
beginning of modern WST. The roots of
this new school of sociological thinking
can for instance be found in Marxism,
sociologic Systems Theory, Structural-
ism and the Annales School. Though
the school is still primarily represented
by sociologists and anthropologists
other scholars are represented within
the active group of world system
thinkers and in many ways world
historians deal with similar concepts
(i.e. Marks, Robert 2002).
Working with core and periphery is a
basic fundament within WST and they
both have to coexist; without a
periphery there is no core. What differs
is the question of what defines them and
whether they are global (Wallerstein, I.
1974) or just represents larger areas of
communication (Abu-Lughod, Janet L.
1989). Together the core and the
periphery represent a world system. But
the boundaries of each system can vary
in extent depending on what elements
are used to define the system. For
example bulk goods, luxury goods and
political power are all likely to diffuse
from the core with different extend. The
core or centre is a place of higher
development and will in the following
be defined as larger cities or world
cities between which trade exists, in-
formation exchanges etc (Abu-Lughod,
Janet L. 1989). These cities are sur-
rounded by a periphery or hinterland.
The cities depend on their periphery for
both physical support and production of
food and raw material to supply the
specialized crafts taking place in the
core areas. On the other hand the core
supplies the periphery with a variety of
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Walrus Tusk and World System Theory
Exploring the Possibilities

Sigrid Cecilie Juel Hansen

Using World System Theory (WST) could be an interesting way of communicating ach-
aeological data into the broader scholarly arena. By using the same technical language it
is easier to compare the material with other research data and thereby the relevance of
the single investigation increases. This article deals with the archaeological data on wal-
rus tusk trade in Viking Age and Medieval period in order to explore and challenge how
this material can be explained through some of the basic principles of WST.