Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo, ed., Social Inequality in Early Medieval Europe: Local Societies and Beyond. Collection Haut Moyen Âge, 39. Turnhout, Belgium, 2020. 360 pp.

Abstract

Abstract This collection of articles grew out of a 2016 symposium, “Archaeology of Social In­equality in Early Medieval Europe,” that honored the interdisciplinary work of historian Chris Wickham, who also provides the conclusion to this publication while J. A. Quirós Castillo wrote the introduction. The topic of social inequality in this context refers to the creation of the state, followed by the development of class systems, the basis of social inequality. Here the historian and the archaeologist join in a common effort to examine the beginnings and evolution of social inequality through both documentary evidence, and material evidence, ranging from pottery fragments to funeral practices. This collection focuses on the Iberian Peninsula with the occasional foray into Italy, one article on France, one on Portugal, and one on Mississippian culture.