An archaeology of innovation
Title | An archaeology of innovation PDF eBook |
Author | Catherine J. Frieman |
Publisher | Manchester University Press |
Pages | 321 |
Release | 2021-02-16 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 1526132672 |
An archaeology of innovation is the first monograph-length investigation of innovation and the innovation process from an archaeological perspective. It interrogates the idea of innovation that permeates our popular media and our political and scientific discourse, setting this against the long-term perspective that only archaeology can offer. Case studies span the entire breadth of human history, from our earliest hominin ancestors to the contemporary world. The book argues that the present narrow focus on pushing the adoption of technical innovations ignores the complex interplay of social, technological and environmental systems that underlies truly innovative societies; the inherent connections between new technologies, technologists and social structure that give them meaning and make them valuable; and the significance and value of conservative social practices that lead to the frequent rejection of innovations.
Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory
Title | Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory PDF eBook |
Author | Michela Spataro |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2019-12-19 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9789088908248 |
Technology refers to any set of standardised procedures for transforming raw materials into finished products. Innovation consists of any change in technology which has tangible and lasting effect on human practices, whether or not it provides utilitarian advantages. Prehistoric societies were never static, but the tempo of innovation occasionally increased to the point that we can refer to transformation taking place. Prehistorians must therefore identify factors promoting or hindering innovation.This volume stems from an international workshop, organised by the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 'Scales of Transformation' at Kiel University in November 2017. The meeting challenged its participants to detect and explain technological change in the past and its role in transformation processes, using archaeological and ethnographic case studies. The papers draw mainly on examples from prehistoric Europe, but case-studies from Iran, the Indus Valley, and contemporary central America are also included. The authors adopt several perspectives, including cultural-historical, economic, environmental, demographic, functional, and agent-based approaches.These case studies often rely on interdisciplinary research, whereby field archaeology, archaeometric analysis, experimental archaeology and ethnographic research are used together to observe and explain innovations and changes in the artisan's repertoire. The results demonstrate that interdisciplinary research is becoming essential to understanding transformation phenomena in prehistoric archaeology, superseding typo-chronological description and comparison.This book is a scholarly publication aimed at academic researchers, particularly archaeologists and archaeological scientists working on ceramics, osseous and metal artifacts.
What's New?
Title | What's New? PDF eBook |
Author | Sander Ernst van der Leeuw |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 1989 |
Genre | Diffusion of innovations |
ISBN |
Invention and Innovation
Title | Invention and Innovation PDF eBook |
Author | Janine Bourriau |
Publisher | Oxbow Books |
Pages | 225 |
Release | 2004-10-01 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1785704222 |
In September 2002, a second workshop on the theme of the social context of technological change was held at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. Discussion has been the core of these meetings so far, with the aim being to relate the results of the specialist investigator to broad historical questions concerning the nature and development of ancient societies. The papers presented here address a wider context: geographically, with the inclusion of the Aegean and thematically, with papers on natural products and raw materials. The time frame remains the same in covering the Late Bronze Age/New Kingdom. The majority of the papers draw on Egyptian evidence, and illustrate a multiplicity of approaches to the problems set by ancient technologies: modelling, methodology of art history and archaeology applied to a problematic group of artefacts, integration of archaeological and textual sources, and the application of the results of scientific analysis to illuminate ancient technology.
The Interplay of People and Technologies
Title | The Interplay of People and Technologies PDF eBook |
Author | Stefan Burmeister |
Publisher | Exzellenzcluster Topoi |
Pages | 294 |
Release | 2017-05-08 |
Genre | Archaeology |
ISBN | 9783981675184 |
Consumption, Trade and Innovation
Title | Consumption, Trade and Innovation PDF eBook |
Author | Marijke Van der Veen |
Publisher | Africa Magna Verlag |
Pages | 331 |
Release | 2011 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 3937248234 |
AD 1-250 (Myos Hormos) and again during ca.
Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory
Title | Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory PDF eBook |
Author | Michela Spataro |
Publisher | |
Pages | 248 |
Release | 2020 |
Genre | Antiquities, Prehistoric |
ISBN | 9789088908262 |
Technology refers to any set of standardised procedures for transforming raw materials into finished products. Innovation consists of any change in technology which has tangible and lasting effect on human practices, whether or not it provides utilitarian advantages. Prehistoric societies were never static, but the tempo of innovation occasionally increased to the point that we can refer to transformation taking place. Prehistorians must therefore identify factors promoting or hindering innovation.This volume stems from an international workshop, organised by the Collaborative Research Centre.