In this paper I shall examine changes in the political economy of the Argolid (and more specifically in the Argive plain) during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. I shall focus on three aspects:
- variation in the scale of production, with special emphasis on the manufacture of prestige items;
- differences in economic integration into larger networks of exchange, as evidenced by the use of imported raw materials and exotic goods;
- variation in the use and consumption of prestige items.  
The analysis will employ  both settlement and funerary data from the main sites in the plain, and will examine differentiation within communities as well as between the various sites (and constellations of sites) in the plain. Ultimately, the emphasis will be on change through time, namely on shifts in sumptuary behaviour and patterns of demand, and ensuing changes in the political economy.  The discussion will attempt to probe deeper, and understand not only the mechanisms, but also the causes of the changes that transformed the southern mainland during this period.