Earlier this month, the Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) working group held its inaugural meeting at St. Peter’s College, Oxford. The meeting focused on information sharing, defining research questions, data compilation and management procedures, publication plans, and getting to know each other. It also included an opening reception at the Pitt-Rivers Museum, an adventurous meal at a Sichuan restaurant, and pints at some of the classic pubs around Oxford. Over the coming months, the collaborators will be working to compile a global database of archaeological information on houses, including their age, location, size, and relative quality of construction. Patterns of inequality revealed through these data will then be examined in the context of other measures of economic productivity, social stability, and conflict to illuminate basic social consequences of inequality in human society. After three days of exciting discussion and camaraderie, the GINI project is off and running!
GINI Project Core Team: Back Row: Tim Kohler, Mark McCoy, Cameron Petrie, Pablo Cruz, Adam Green, Tim Kerig; Front Row: Amy Bogaard, Shadreck Chirikure, Amy Thompson, Enrico Crema.