Download or read book Craft Specialization and Social Evolution written by Bernard Wailes and published by UPenn Museum of Archaeology. This book was released on 1996-01-29 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: V. Gordon Childe was the first scholar to attempt a broad and sustained socioeconomic analysis of the archaeology of the ancient world in terms that, today, could be called explanatory. To most, he was remembered only as a diligent synthesizer whose whole interpretation collapsed when its chronology was demolished. There was little recognition of his insistence that the emergence of craft specialists, and their very variable roles in the relations of production, were crucial to an understanding of social evolution. The interrelationship between sociopolitical complexity and craft production is a critical one, so critical that one might ask, just how complex would any society have become without craft specialization. This volume derives from the papers presented at a symposium at the American Anthropological Association meetings on the centenary of Childe's birth. Contributors to the volume include David W. Anthony, Philip J. Arnold III, Bennet Bronson, Robert Chapman, John E. Clark, Cathy L. Costin, Pam J. Crabtree, Philip L. Kohl, D. Blair Gibson, Antonio Gilman, Vincent C. Piggott, Jeremy A. Sabloff, Gil J. Stein, Ruth Tringham, Anne P. Underhill, Bernard Wailes, Peter S. Wells, Joyce C. White, Rita P. Wright, and Richard L. Zettler. Symposium Series Volume VI University Museum Monograph, 93

Download or read book Craft Specialization Technology and Social Change written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation addresses several aspects of the study of craft production and social and economic organization during the Iron Age (c. 1200 B.C.E. - 400 B.C.E.) and Early Historic Periods (c. 400 B.C.E. - 400 C.E.) in South India. In particular, I examine the techniques and technologies and the organization of production of semi-precious stone ornaments from Kodumanal, Pattanam, and Kadebakele. In addition, I analyzed a large sample of the ceramic assemblage from Kodumanal, and established a typology and a ceramic chronology based on forms and wares. Kodumanal was a site of intensive production of beads, finger rings, and ear spool ornaments, primarily in high quality, clear crystalline quartz. I analyzed the beads, ornaments, and production waste excavated from Kodumanal, using methods derived from the chaîne opératoire approach. By classifying the products of the different stages in ornament production, I tracked the nature and intensity of ornament production over time in all the excavated trenches. The results of this approach showed that production of quartz beads and ornaments was carried out to varying degrees in different areas of the habitation at Kodumanal, and the scale of production varied significantly over time. There is evidence of segmentation in the stages of production of semi-precious stone ornament production, which may indicate control over production (Kenoyer 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000). Though it has long been clear that both Black and Red Ware and bleached carnelian beads were important parts of megalithic ritual and daily life, my analysis shows strong conservatism in the kinds of ornaments and pottery interred in megalithic monuments from the Iron Age to Early Historic period. This is in marked contrast with the changing assemblages of ornaments and ceramics used in daily life and discarded in habitation sites. The significant conclusions of this research show several broad trends over the course of the Iron Age and Early Historic periods. The economic strategies of craft producers were fluctuating over time, and trade became increasingly regular and systematic. Despite the increasing availability of new forms, styles and materials of ornament, there was strong conservatism in the kinds of material culture interred in megalithic practices.

Download or read book Artisans Rule written by Ina Miloglav and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-10 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Craft production and its significance for understanding social relations are one of the essential topics in prehistoric archaeology. Standardization of raw materials, products, and manufacturing procedures, and the presence or absence of specialized artisans still challenge scholars engaged in the studies of technology, social archaeology, exchange and distribution networks and economy in the past. In this volume, seven case studies covering a chronological span from the Neolithic to La Tène Europe explore the notions of standardization and specialization, the nature of their interrelationship, the methods for assessing their presence in the archaeological record, and their significance for the reconstruction of social relations and emergence of social complexity, while two ethnoarchaeological studies focus on the organization of production and methods of estimation of a number of artisans. This volume brings together research from prominent scholars, based on different theoretical perspectives, thus giving new insight into the fundamental issues related to artisans and their crafts.

Download or read book Craft Production and Social Change in Northern China written by Anne P. Underhill and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an anthropological analysis of how craft production changed in relation to the development of complex societies in northern China. It focuses on the production and use of food containers-pottery and bronze vessels-during the late prehistoric and early historic periods. A major theme is how production and use of prestige vessels changed in relation to increase in degree of social inequality. The research and writing of this book took place intermittently over a period of several years. When I first outlined the book in 1994, I planned to offer a more limited and descriptive account of social change during the late prehistoric period. In considering the human desire to display status with prestige goods, my initial approach emphasized how the case of northern China was similar to other areas of the world. I began to realize that in order to adequately explain how and why craft production changed in ancient China, it was crucial to consider the belief systems that motivated produc tion and use of food containers. Similarly, a striking characteristic of ancient China that I needed to include in the analysis was the preponderance of food containers, rather than other goods, that were buried with the deceased. I decided to investigate the social and ritual uses of food, bever ages, and containers during more than one period of Chinese history. Some strong patterns could have emerged during the late prehistoric period.

Download or read book Understanding the Role of Production and Craft Specialization in Ancient Socio economic Systems written by Kyle Andrew Knabb and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Evolution of Ceramic Production Organization in a Maya Community written by Dean E. Arnold and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2015-02-15 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Evolution of Ceramic Production Organization in a Maya Community, Dean E. Arnold continues his unique approach to ceramic ethnoarchaeology, tracing the history of potters in Ticul, Yucatán, and their production space over a period of more than four decades. This follow-up to his 2008 work Social Change and the Evolution of Ceramic Production and Distribution uses narrative to trace the changes in production personnel and their spatial organization through the changes in production organization in Ticul. Although several kinds of production units developed, households were the most persistent units of production in spite of massive social change and the reorientation of pottery production to the tourist market. Entrepreneurial workshops, government-sponsored workshops, and workshops attached to tourist hotels developed more recently but were short-lived, whereas pottery-making households extended deep into the nineteenth century. Through this continuity and change, intermittent crafting, multi-crafting, and potters' increased management of economic risk also factored into the development of the production organization in Ticul. Illustrated with more than 100 images of production units, The Evolution of Ceramic Production Organization in a Maya Community is an important contribution to the understanding of ceramic production. Scholars with interests in craft specialization, craft production, and demography, as well as specialists in Mesoamerican archaeology, anthropology, history, and economy, will find this volume especially useful.

Download or read book Technology and Social Change in Belgic Gaul written by Elizabeth G. Hamilton and published by University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. This book was released on 1996-01-29 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of technology and changes in technical processes can be as revealing of culture and culture change as the study of stylistic changes in artifacts. This study focuses on the remains of over 400 years of copper-base metal artifacts and metalworking from excavations of a mint foundry/workshop at the Late Iron Age and Roman site of the Titelberg, Luxembourg. Using metallographic and metallurgical analysis, the author demonstrates the earliest known use of brass in transalpine Europe, documents changing patterns of alloy use over time, and notes the creation and disappearance of two different sociotechnical systems. MASCA Vol. 13

Download or read book Technological Choices written by Pierre Lemonnier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technological Choices applies the critical tools of archaeology to the subject of technology and its impact on humankind throughout the ages. An examination of the challenges technological innovations present to various cultures, Technological Choices asserts that in any society, such choices are made on the basis of cultural values and social relations, rather than on the inherent benefits in technology itself. Of course, this revolutionary viewpoint has critical implications for contemporary Western societies. Based on case studies covering a wide range of chronologies and geographies, Technological Choices moves rapidly from Neolithic Europe to the modern industrial age, stopping on the way to examine the tribes of Papua, New Guinea, rural Indian and North African societies as well as several European peasant communities. The techniques studied range from the manufacture of stone implements to the development of high-tech transportation devices. With its breadth of subject matter and multidisciplinary approach, Technological Choices offers new insight into the interrelationship between technology and society. Also unprecedented is the book's emphasis on the functional aspects of material culture.

Download or read book Social Change written by Ronald S. Edari and published by WCB/McGraw-Hill. This book was released on 1976 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ancient Civilizations written by Chris Scarre and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ancient Civilizations offers a comprehensive and straightforward account of the world’s first civilizations and how they were discovered, drawing on many avenues of inquiry including archaeological excavations, surveys, laboratory work, highly specialized scientific investigations, and both historical and ethnohistorical records. This book covers the earliest civilizations and the great powers in the Near East, moving on to the first Aegean civilizations, the Mediterranean world in the first millennium, Imperial Rome, northeast Africa, the divine kings in southeast Asia, and empires in East Asia, as well as early states in the Americas and Andean civilization. Ancient Civilizations includes a number of features to support student learning: a wealth of images, including several new illustrations; feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds and written sources; and an extensive guide to further reading. With new perceptions of the origin and collapse of states, including a review of the issue of sustainability, this fourth edition has been extensively updated in the light of spectacular new discoveries and the latest theoretical advances. Examining the world’s pre-industrial civilizations from a multidisciplinary perspective and offering a comparative analysis of the field which explores the connections between all civilizations around the world, Scarre and Fagan, both established authorities on world prehistory, provide a valuable introduction to pre-industrial civilizations in all their brilliant diversity.

Download or read book Polity and Ecology in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca written by Arthur A. Joyce and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encapsulating two decades of research, Polity and Ecology in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca is the first major treatment of the lower Río Verde region of Oaxaca, investigating its social, political, and ecological history. Tracing Formative period developments from the earliest known evidence of human presence to the collapse of Río Viejo (the region's first centralized polity), the volume synthesizes the archaeological and paleoecological evidence from the valley. This period saw the earliest agricultural settlements in the region as well as the origins of sedentism and social complexity, and witnessed major changes in floodplain and coastal environments that expanded the productivity of subsistence resources. The book addresses theoretically significant questions of broad relevance such as the origins and spread of agriculture, the social negotiation of complex political formations, the effects of long-distance trade and interaction, the macroregional effects of landscape change, and prehispanic ideology and political power. Focusing on questions of interregional interaction, environmental change, and political centralization, Polity and Ecology in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca provides a comprehensive understanding of the Formative period archaeology of this important and long neglected region of Oaxaca.

Download or read book Dawn of the Metal Age written by Jonathan M. Golden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth millennium BCE was a period of rapid social change. One of the key factors was the developments in technology which led to the rise of the metals industry. Archaeological finds from sites dating to the Chalcolithic period indicate the production and use of copper. 'Dawn of the Metal Age' examines a range of sites - from copper mines in Jordan and Israel to the villages of the northern Negev where copper was produced in household workshops, to a series of cave burials where a range of luxury metal goods were buried with the elite members of Chalcolithic society. Ancient technology is reconstructed from the archaeological evidence, which also illuminates the changing economic, social, religious and political environment of the time.

Download or read book Trade and Civilisation written by Kristian Kristiansen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the first global analysis of the relationship between trade and civilisation from the beginning of civilisation 3000 BC until the modern era 1600 AD. Encompassing the various networks including the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, Near Eastern family traders of the Bronze Age, and the Medieval Hanseatic League, it examines the role of the individual merchant, the products of trade, the role of the state, and the technical conditions for land and sea transport that created diverging systems of trade and in the development of global trade networks. Trade networks, however, were not durable. The book focuses on the establishment and decline of great trading network systems, and how they related to the expansion of civilisation, and to different forms of social and economic exploitation. Case studies focus on local conditions as well as global networks until the sixteenth century when the whole globe was connected by trade.

Download or read book Lithic Technological Organization and Paleoenvironmental Change written by Erick Robinson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-06 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The objective of this edited volume is to bring together a diverse set of analyses to document how small-scale societies responded to paleoenvironmental change based on the evidence of their lithic technologies. The contributions bring together an international forum for interpreting changes in technological organization - embracing a wide range of time periods, geographic regions and methodological approaches.​ ​As technology brings more refined information on ancient climates, the research on spatial and temporal variability of paleoenvironmental changes. In turn, this has also broadened considerations of the many ways that prehistoric hunter-gatherers may have responded to fluctuations in resource bases. From an archaeological perspective, stone tools and their associated debitage provide clues to understanding these past choices and decisions, and help to further the investigation into how variable human responses may have been. Despite significant advances in the theory and methodology of lithic technological analysis, there have been few attempts to link these developments to paleoenvironmental research on a global scale.

Download or read book Archaeology at the Millennium written by Gary M. Feinman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-09-27 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, internationally distinguished contributors consider hot topics in turn-of-the-millennium archaeology and chart an ambitious agenda for the future.

Download or read book Fifty Years of Medieval Technology and Social Change written by Steven A. Walton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together a series of papers at Kalamazoo as well as some contributed papers inspired by the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Lynn White Jr.’s, Medieval Technology and Social Change (1962), a slim study which catalyzed the study of technology in the Middle Ages in the English-speaking world. While the initial reviews and decades-long fortune of the volume have been varied, it is still in print and remains a touchstone of an idea and a time. The contributors to the volume, therefore, both investigate the book itself and its fate, and look at new research furthering and inspired by White’s work. The book opens with an introduction surveying White’s career, with a bibliography of his work, as well as some opening thoughts on the study of medieval technology in the last fifty years. Three papers then deal explicitly with the reception and longevity of his work and its impact on medieval studies more generally. Then five papers look at new cast studies areas where White’s work and approach has had a particular impact, namely, medieval technology studies and medieval rural/ ecological studies.

Download or read book Connectivity in Antiquity written by Oystein S. LaBianca and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today's politicians argue that the more 'connected' societies are the less danger they pose to global stability. But is this a 'new' idea or one as old as history itself? Trade routes as far back as prehistory were responsible for the exchange of ideas as well as goods, leading to the rapid expansion of states and empires. 'Connectivity in Antiquity' brings together a team of influential scholars to examine the process of globalization in antiquity. The essays examine metallurgy, social evolution, economic growth and the impact of religious pilgrimage, and range across the eastern Mediterranean, Syria, the Transjordan, south Yemen, and Egypt. 'Connectivity in Antiquity' will be of value to all those interested in the relationship between antiquity and modern globalisation.