The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319231537
Total Pages : 323 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research by : Stefano Biagetti

Download or read book The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research written by Stefano Biagetti and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-06-02 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume focuses on the intangible elements of human cultures, whose relevance in the study of archaeology has often been claimed but rarely practiced. In this book, the authors successfully show how the adoption of ethnoarchaeological perspectives on non-material aspects of cultures can support the development of methodologies aimed at refining the archaeological interpretation of ancient items, technologies, rituals, settlements and even landscape. The volume includes a series of new approaches that can foster the dialogue between archaeology and anthropology in the domain of the intangible knowledge of rural and urban communities. The role of ethnoarchaeology in the study of the intangible heritage is so far largely underexplored, and there is a considerable lack of ethnoarchaeological studies explicitly focused on the less tangible evidence of present and past societies. Fresh case studies will revitalize the theoretical debate around ethnoarchaeology and its applicability in the archaeological and heritage research in the new millennium. Over the past decade, ‘intangible’ has become a key word in anthropological research and in heritage management. Archaeological theories and methods regarding the explorations of the meaning and the significance of artifacts, resources, and settlement patterns are increasingly focusing on non-material evidence. Due to its peculiar characteristics, ethnoarchaeology can effectively foster the development of the study of the intangible cultural heritage of living societies, and highlight its relevance to the study of those of the past.

Intangible Heritage Embodied

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1441900721
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis Intangible Heritage Embodied by : D. Fairchild Ruggles

Download or read book Intangible Heritage Embodied written by D. Fairchild Ruggles and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-12 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeological research has long focused on studying tangible artifacts to build a picture of the cultures it examines. Equally important to understanding a culture, however, are the intangible elements that become part of its heritage. In 2003, UNESCO adopted a convention specifically to protect intangible heritage, including the following: oral traditions and expressions, including language; performing arts (such as traditional music, dance, and theater); social practices, rituals, and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship. Since this convention was adopted, scholars and preservationists have struggled with how to best approach intangible heritage. This volume specifically focuses on embodied intangible heritage, or the human body as a vehicle for memory, movement, and sound. The contributors to this work examine ritual and artistic movement, theater, music, oral literature, as well as the role of the internet in cultural transmission. Globalization and particularly the internet, has a complex effect on the transmission of intangible heritage: while music, dance, and other expressions are now shared easily, the performances often lack context and may be shared with a group that does not fully understand what they are seeing or hearing. This volume draws on case studies from around the world to examine the problems and possibilities of implementing the new UNESCO convention. The findings in this volume will be vital to both professionals and academics in anthropology, archaeology, history, museum studies, architecture, and anyone else who deals with issues of cultural heritage and preservation.

Dogs, Past and Present

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Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1803273550
Total Pages : 502 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Dogs, Past and Present by : Ivana Fiore

Download or read book Dogs, Past and Present written by Ivana Fiore and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2023-09-07 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume gathers contributions from scholars from a variety of disciplines to provide a comprehensive assessment of the importance of dogs through history. There is a focus on the necessity of an ‘interdisciplinary perspective’ to fully understand the fundamental role that dogs have played in our past.

Maya Potters' Indigenous Knowledge

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Publisher : University Press of Colorado
ISBN 13 : 1607326566
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis Maya Potters' Indigenous Knowledge by : Dean E. Arnold

Download or read book Maya Potters' Indigenous Knowledge written by Dean E. Arnold and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on fieldwork and reflection over a period of almost fifty years, Maya Potters’ Indigenous Knowledge utilizes engagement theory to describe the indigenous knowledge of traditional Maya potters in Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico. In this heavily illustrated narrative account, Dean E. Arnold examines craftspeople’s knowledge and skills, their engagement with their natural and social environments, the raw materials they use for their craft, and their process for making pottery. Following Lambros Malafouris, Tim Ingold, and Colin Renfrew, Arnold argues that potters’ indigenous knowledge is not just in their minds but extends to their engagement with the environment, raw materials, and the pottery-making process itself and is recursively affected by visual and tactile feedback. Pottery is not just an expression of a mental template but also involves the interaction of cognitive categories, embodied muscular patterns, and the engagement of those categories and skills with the production process. Indigenous knowledge is thus a product of the interaction of mind and material, of mental categories and action, and of cognition and sensory engagement—the interaction of both human and material agency. Engagement theory has become an important theoretical approach and “indigenous knowledge” (as cultural heritage) is the focus of much current research in anthropology, archaeology, and cultural resource management. While Dean Arnold’s previous work has been significant in ceramic ethnoarchaeology, Maya Potters' Indigenous Knowledge goes further, providing new evidence and opening up different concepts and approaches to understanding practical processes. It will be of interest to a wide variety of researchers in Maya studies, material culture, material sciences, ceramic ecology, and ethnoarchaeology.

The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

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Author :
Publisher : IGI Global
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 363 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (693 download)

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Book Synopsis The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by : Justin, Mercia Selva Malar

Download or read book The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals written by Justin, Mercia Selva Malar and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2024-05-13 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is in a race against time to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by 2030. Despite global efforts to address these ambitious goals, progress remains uneven, and significant gaps persist. Women are often underrepresented and underutilized in leadership positions, yet they possess untapped potential to be formidable forces of change. The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is an exploration into the role of female leaders in overcoming the challenges that hinder the realization of the UN SDGs. It makes clear that the reality of achieving these goals requires a seismic shift in leadership dynamics, with women at the forefront of this transformative journey. The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals introduces readers to a diverse array of women leaders who have been instrumental in driving progress towards the UN SDGs. Their stories serve as sources of inspiration for academics, corporate executives, non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders, and government officials, showcasing the tangible impact women can have when given the opportunity to lead. The book is a call to action, urging women to step into leadership roles across academia, corporations, civil society, and government, thereby expediting the achievement of the United Nations development goals.

Contesting Ethnoarchaeologies

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1461491177
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (614 download)

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Book Synopsis Contesting Ethnoarchaeologies by : Arkadiusz Marciniak

Download or read book Contesting Ethnoarchaeologies written by Arkadiusz Marciniak and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contesting Ethnoarchaeologies provides a systematic overview of major non-American traditions of ethnoarchaeology, with a particular focus on Europe and Asia. It explores all stages of their research agenda. These ethnoarchaeologies were embedded in theoretical traditions of local archaeologies. Moreover, ethnoarchaeological studies carried out in these different settings targeted a wide range of different issues and addressed numerous questions of covering all sorts of different issues. Consequently, achieved results and data have been largely idiosyncratic and hardly compatible. Hence, this volume aims not only to conceptualize characteristics of these diverse ethnoarchaeologies but more importantly put them in a broader context of the development of archaeology in different parts of Europe and Asia. The contributors to the volume express their own diverse views on the cognitive and interpretative value of ethnoarchaeology for studying prehistoric past, based on particular cases of experience and research. As such, the volume is not only a valuable overview of numerous ethnoarchaeological practices in different parts of the region, but also a significant contribution to the history of archaeological thought. This perspective shall make the book of wider applicability and make possible to put up ethnoarchaeology as an immanent and important element of archaeological theory.

Lithic Studies: Anatolia and Beyond

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Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1789699274
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (896 download)

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Book Synopsis Lithic Studies: Anatolia and Beyond by : Adnan Baysal

Download or read book Lithic Studies: Anatolia and Beyond written by Adnan Baysal and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2022-03-31 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume aims to show networks of cultural interactions by focusing on the latest lithic studies from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans, bringing to the forefront the connectedness and techno-cultural continuity of knapped and ground stone technologies.

Children, Spaces and Identity

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Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1782979360
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (829 download)

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Book Synopsis Children, Spaces and Identity by : Margarita Sánchez Romero

Download or read book Children, Spaces and Identity written by Margarita Sánchez Romero and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2015-10-31 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do children construct, negotiate and organize space? The study of social space in any human group is fraught with limitations, and to these we must add the further limits involved in the study of childhood. Here specialists from archaeology, history, literature, architecture, didactics, museology and anthropology build a body of theoretical and methodological approaches about how space is articulated and organized around children and how this disposition affects the creation and maintenance of social identities. Children are considered as the main actors in historic dynamics of social change, from prehistory to the present day. Notions on space, childhood and the construction of both the individual and the group identity of children are considered as a prelude to papers that focus on analyzing and identifying the spaces which contribute to the construction of children’s identity during their lives: the places they live, learn, socialize and play. A final section deals with these same aspects, but focuses on funerary contexts, in which children may lose their capacity to influence events, as it is adults who establish burial strategies and practices. In each case authors ask questions such as: how do adults construct spaces for children? How do children manage their own spaces? How do people (adults and children) build (invisible and/or physical) boundaries and spaces?

Petrification Processes in Matter and Society

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030693880
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Petrification Processes in Matter and Society by : Sophie Hüglin

Download or read book Petrification Processes in Matter and Society written by Sophie Hüglin and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-08-13 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Petrification is a process, but it also can be understood as a concept. This volume takes the first steps to manifest, materialize or “petrify” the concept of “petrification” and turn it into a tool for analyzing material and social processes. The wide array of approaches to petrification as a process assembled here is more of a collection of possibilities than an attempt to establish a firm, law-generating theory. Divided into three parts, this volume’s twenty-plus authors explore petrification both as a theoretical concept and as a contextualized material and social process across geological, prehistoric and historic periods. Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.

Ancient Economies in Comparative Perspective

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031087631
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Ancient Economies in Comparative Perspective by : Marcella Frangipane

Download or read book Ancient Economies in Comparative Perspective written by Marcella Frangipane and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-09-09 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the economic organization of ancient societies from a comparative perspective. By pursuing an interdisciplinary approach, including contributions by archaeologists, historians of antiquity, economic historians as well as historians of economic thought, it studies various aspects of ancient economies, such as the material living conditions including production technologies, etc.; economic institutions such as markets and coinage; as well as the economic thinking of the time. In the process, it also explores the comparability of economic thought, economic institutions and economic systems in ancient history. Focusing on the Ancient Near East as well as the Mediterranean, including Greece and Rome, this comparative perspective makes it possible to identify historical permanencies, but also diverse forms of social and political organization and cultural systems. These institutions are then evaluated in terms of their capacity to solve economic problems, such as the efficient use of resources or political stability. The first part of the book introduces readers to the methodological context of the comparative approach, including an evaluation of the related historiographical tradition. Subsequent parts discuss a range of development models, elements of economic thinking in ancient societies, the role of trade and globalization, and the use of monetary and financial instruments, as well as political aspects.

Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes

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Publisher : African Books Collective
ISBN 13 : 9956762458
Total Pages : 500 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (567 download)

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Book Synopsis Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes by : Munyaradzi Manyanga

Download or read book Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes written by Munyaradzi Manyanga and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dissatisfaction has matured in Africa and elsewhere around the fact that often, the dominant frameworks for interpreting the continents past are not rooted on the continents value system and philosophy. This creates knowledge that does not make sense especially to local communities. The big question therefore is can Africans develop theories that can contribute towards the interpretation of the African past, using their own experiences? Framed within a concept revision substrate, the collection of papers in this thought provoking volume argues for concept revision as a step towards decolonizing knowledge in the post-colony. The various papers powerfully expose that cleansed knowledge is not only locally relevant: it is also locally accessible and globally understandable.

Archaeologies of the Heart

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030363503
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis Archaeologies of the Heart by : Kisha Supernant

Download or read book Archaeologies of the Heart written by Kisha Supernant and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-13 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeological practice is currently shifting in response to feminist, indigenous, activist, community-based, and anarchic critiques of how archaeology is practiced and how science is used to interpret the past lives of people. Inspired by the calls for a different way of doing archaeology, this volume presents a case here for a heart-centered archaeological practice. Heart-centered practice emerged in care-based disciplines, such as nursing and various forms of therapy, as a way to recognize the importance of caring for those on whom we work, and as an avenue to explore how our interactions with others impacts our own emotions and heart. Archaeologists are disciplined to separate mind and heart, a division which harkens back to the origins of western thought. The dualism between the mental and the physical is fundamental to the concept that humans can objectively study the world without being immersed in it. Scientific approaches to understanding the world assume there is an objective world to be studied and that humans must remove themselves from that world in order to find the truth. An archaeology of the heart rejects this dualism; rather, we see mind, body, heart, and spirit as inextricable. An archaeology of the heart provides a new space for thinking through an integrated, responsible, and grounded archaeology, where there is care for the living and the dead, acknowledges the need to build responsible relationships with communities, and with the archaeological record, and emphasize the role of rigor in how work and research is conducted. The contributions bring together archaeological practitioners from across the globe in different contexts to explore how heart-centered practice can impact archaeological theory, methodology, and research throughout the discipline.

The Archaeology of Art

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317429826
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

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Book Synopsis The Archaeology of Art by : Andrew Meirion Jones

Download or read book The Archaeology of Art written by Andrew Meirion Jones and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can archaeologists interpret ancient art and images if they do not treat them as symbols or signifiers of identity? Traditional approaches to the archaeology of art have borrowed from the history of art and the anthropology of art by focusing on iconography, meaning, communication and identity. This puts the archaeology of art at a disadvantage as an understanding of iconography and meaning requires a detailed knowledge of historical or ethnographic context unavailable to many archaeologists. Rather than playing to archaeology’s weaknesses, the authors argue that an archaeology of art should instead play to archaeology’s strength: the material character of archaeological evidence. Using case studies - examining rock art, figurines, beadwork, murals, coffin decorations, sculpture and architecture from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and north Africa -the authors develop an understanding of the affective and effective nature of ancient art and imagery. An analysis of a series of material-based practices, from gesture and improvisation to miniaturisation and gigantism, assembly and disassembly and the use of distinctions in colour enable key concepts, such as style and meaning, to be re-imagined as affective practices. Recasting the archaeology of art as the study of affects offers a new prospectus for the study of ancient art and imagery.

Gifts, Goods and Money: Comparing currency and circulation systems in past societies

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Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1784918369
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (849 download)

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Book Synopsis Gifts, Goods and Money: Comparing currency and circulation systems in past societies by : Dirk Brandherm

Download or read book Gifts, Goods and Money: Comparing currency and circulation systems in past societies written by Dirk Brandherm and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2018-04-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The papers gathered in this volume explore the economic and social roles of exchange systems in past societies from a variety of different perspectives. Based on a broad range of individual case studies, the authors tackle problems surrounding the identification of (pre-monetary) currencies in the archaeological record.

Archaeology of Mountain Landscapes

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438489897
Total Pages : 475 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Archaeology of Mountain Landscapes by : Arnau Garcia-Molsosa

Download or read book Archaeology of Mountain Landscapes written by Arnau Garcia-Molsosa and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2023-10-01 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mountains contain a rich and diverse set of remnants left by human societies. They have been inhabited since prehistory and have been transformed by human activity during prehistorical and historical times, and that history defines mountain landscapes as we know them today. Archaeology of Mountain Landscapes contains twenty contributions by forty-one specialists currently researching mountain areas in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The different case studies address the subject diachronically, ranging from prehistory to modern times, and employ a variety of methodological strategies, including archaeological surveys and excavation, paleoenvironmental studies, and historical and ethnographical research. This volume demonstrates how multidisciplinary archaeological fieldwork is radically changing our vision of mountain landscapes. Viewing mountain landscapes as archaeological documents contributes to our understanding of the history of mountain environments and offers new archaeological datasets to use in the interpretation of human societies. Taken together, the essays collected here offer a comprehensive view of current research and suggest new directions for future study.

Wild Harvest

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Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 178570124X
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (857 download)

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Book Synopsis Wild Harvest by : Karen Hardy

Download or read book Wild Harvest written by Karen Hardy and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2016-04-20 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plants are fundamental to life; they are used by all human groups and most animals. They provide raw materials, vitamins and essential nutrients and we could not survive without them. Yet access to plant use before the Neolithic can be challenging. In some places, plant remains rarely survive and reconstructing plant use in pre-agrarian contexts needs to be conducted using a range of different techniques. This lack of visible evidence has led to plants being undervalued, both in terms of their contribution to diet and as raw materials. This book outlines why the role of plants is required for a better understanding of hominin and pre-agrarian human life, and it offers a variety of ways in which this can be achieved. Wild Harvest is divided into three sections. In section 1 each chapter focuses on a specific feature of plant use by humans; this covers the role of carbohydrates, the need for and effects of processing methods, the role of plants in self-medication among apes, plants as raw materials, and the extent of evidence for plant use prior to the development of agriculture in the Near East. Section 2 comprises seven chapters which cover different methods available to obtain information on plants, and the third section has five chapters, each covering a topic related to ethnography, ethnohistory, or ethnoarchaeology, and how these can be used to improve our understanding of the role of plants in the pre-agrarian past.

Ecology of a Tool

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Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 178925387X
Total Pages : 832 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis Ecology of a Tool by : Pierre Perequin

Download or read book Ecology of a Tool written by Pierre Perequin and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 832 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Guinea, and especially Papua New Guinea, is the last country in the world where ethnologists were able to closely observe, film and photograph the whole manufacturing chaînes opératoires of polished stone felling tools, from quarry extraction to finished tool use. Research on the polished blades of PNG has evolved over the years, following changing philosophies and research agendas. While it is clear that an exceptional sum of information has been gathered, it remains centered on that small part of the Highlands where conditions for field research were more pleasant than elsewhere. This presentation of Irian Jaya axes therefore tackles a topic that remains mostly unexplored. Until now, stone tool research in New Guinea has followed an anthropocentric approach, in which tools are seen more as vectors for social exchanges than as means of acting on the environment. This monograph takes a different approach. Here, polished stone blades are placed at the center of the world, between, on one side, the transformed natural environment, and, on the other, the social and economic environment. This approach allows for a suggestion of new avenues of inference in archaeology, as well as to test and abandon existing ones. In this volume, the stone blade is considered as a living being, existing in balance within its biotope. This idea is not far removed from the beliefs of Irian Jaya farmers, for whom life animates certain objects of their material culture. Following a brief presentation of Irian Jaya, the function of polished stone blades in Irian Jaya societies and the distribution of hafting styles is described, defined and studied along with the quarrying zones and the areas of diffusion and use of their production. The different trends in each area of polished blade production and exchanges are also noted. Finally, it concludes with a discussion of the ethnoarchaeological potential of these contemporary observations.