On the West Bank of Jordan a complex of 19 large grain silos was found dating from 3,200-2,600 BC. They are 1-4 meters in diameter and could contain up til 25 cubic meters of grain. From Mesopotamia some slightly older grain silos were known, but not in such quantities. The silos are within the confine of large family residences, placed with 2-5 silos in a group. The older Mesopotamian silos were located in open spaces and seemed to be collectively owned. According to archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel, David Ben-Shlomo and Tali Kuperman these finds show personal accumulation of possessions on an unprecedented scale. The period prior to 3,000 BC forms the introductive era of large city civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Great Pyramids of Egypt are slightly younger, dating from around 2,700 BC. The archaeologists find it surprising that such personal wealth shows up on he river Jordan instaed of in Egypt or Mesopotamia. The family-owned silos could contain 15-36 tons of grain, whereas a single individual would need 200 kg yearly for sustenance. To harvest 20 tons of grain in this period some 40 hectares would be needed. It is not clear wheteher the silos only contained the families' produce or that for instance an elite levied tax in natura from the populace. On the central enclosing of the houses, where the silos are located, there were also held festivities, as is shown by the large numbers of small animal bones found there. Inside the silos there were also found a number of graves, which in modern eyes may seem strange, but archaeologists see it as the oldest manifestation of a classic symbolism in the Middle East: grain symbolized rebirth and eternal life.
The silos are in accordance with general standards for self-sustained grain management that are still used today, using round silos, as these can best sustain pressure, and locating several silos together in order to hold several species of grain simultaneously and to prevent simultaneous decay of all grain, as well as alignment in rows - as is still applied today.
http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0830309.htm
The same issue also contains an article on Xiongnu settlements in Mongolia, a.o. http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0830372.htm
The silos are in accordance with general standards for self-sustained grain management that are still used today, using round silos, as these can best sustain pressure, and locating several silos together in order to hold several species of grain simultaneously and to prevent simultaneous decay of all grain, as well as alignment in rows - as is still applied today.
http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0830309.htm
The same issue also contains an article on Xiongnu settlements in Mongolia, a.o. http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0830372.htm
Perhaps it was Slicher van Bath. Any chance of finding a paper by him online and quoting some of those estimates? Unfortunately I don't have access to most paid journals covering social sciences.
