This volume brings together innovative research to explore the profound impact of resources on the development of early societies. Divided into three major themes – lifeworlds in resource landscapes, skill and embodied knowledge, and the role of resources within complex systems – the volume draws on diverse case studies, from Bronze Age Chinese mining to Iron Age preurban resource management and the metallurgy-pastoralism nexus. Contributors reveal how materials were not merely extracted but embedded within cognitive frameworks, cultural traditions, and social transformations. Special emphasis is placed on the relational and evolving nature of craft skills, technological innovations, and the embodied growth of knowledge. Advanced computational approaches focussing on complexity, further illuminate patterns of mobility, resource use, and state formation.

Integrating archaeological, anthropological, and modeling perspectives, this volume offers an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar analysis of resources and their impact on societies in premodern times. It is intended for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in archaeology, anthropology, history, and related disciplines who are interested in material culture, environmental adaptation, cognitive processes, and the dynamics of complex societies.