Extending Cliometrics to Ancient History Using Complexity

Laurent Gauthier

Kyklos, 2026, vol. 79, issue 2, 585-595

Abstract: Cliometrics, concerned with the application of economic models to history, have left antiquity aside because of the perceived lack of data available for this period. We argue that cliometrics do not have to specifically focus on the economy and, associated with complexity sciences, can operate on primary historical sources. Thus, redefining cliometrics gives them access to the extensive corpora of historical material that have been digitized, in particular for ancient history, which has so far remained outside cliometrics' purview. We discuss two examples of a cliometrics and complexity approach to ancient history: inscriptions and votive acts in ancient Greece.

Date: 2026
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