Diversification of standards of living in modern societies is one of the main research topics for economists and sociologists. Usually, economic inequalities are considered to be a natural phenomenon which trigger further progress and, in moderate amounts, are socially acceptable. However, deep inequalities are unjust and destructive and lead to conflicts. The research of contemporary inequalities in living standards mainly focuses on defining their source and their social and economic implications. The issue of social inequalities in pre-industrial societies is researched in a similar way, but requires different methods and data sources. The purpose of this paper is to determine the usefulness of archaeology in the research of diversification of living standards in Central-European cities at the end of Middle Ages and in the Early Modern era. As a case study we discuss the consumption strategies of Late Medieval and Early Modern dress accessories from different burgher plots in Prague (modern Czech Republic) and Wrocław (modern Poland) as an introduction for broader research.

现代社会生活水平的多样化是经济学家和社会学家的主要研究课题之一。通常，经济不平等被认为是一种自然现象，会引发进一步的进步，并且在适度的程度上是社会可以接受的。然而，严重的不平等是不公正和具有破坏性的，并导致冲突。当代生活水平不平等的研究主要集中在确定其根源及其社会和经济影响。前工业社会的社会不平等问题以类似的方式进行研究，但需要不同的方法和数据来源。本文的目的是确定考古学在研究中世纪末期和近代早期中欧城市生活水平多样化的有用性。