Archaeological Approaches to Technology - Softcover

Miller, Heather Margaret-Louise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1598744747 ISBN 13: 9781598744743

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

This book is designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate level archaeology students taking courses in ancient technologies, archaeological craft production, material culture, the history of technology, archaeometry, and field methods. This text can also serve as a general introduction and a reference for archaeologists, material culture specialists in socio-cultural disciplines, and engineers/scientists interested in the backgrounds and histories of their disciplines. The study of ancient technologies, that is, the ways in which objects and materials were made and used can reveal insights into economic, social, political, and ritual realms of the past. This book summarizes the current state of ancient technology studies by emphasizing methodologies, some major technologies, and the questions and issues that drive archaeologists in their consideration of these technologies. It shows the ways that technology studies can be used by archaeologists working anywhere, on any type of society and it embraces an orientation toward the practical, not the philosophical. It compares the range of pre-industrial technologies, from stone tool production, fiber crafts, wood and bone working, fired clay crafts, metal production, and glass manufacture. It includes socially contextualized case studies, as well as general descriptions of technological processes. It discusses essential terminology (technology, material culture, chaine operatoire, etc.), primarily from the perspective of how these terms are used by archaeologists.

About this title

Book Description:

Offers archaeologists who are not experts in these subjects with a ready reference

From the Back Cover:

Archaeological Approaches to Technology offers a unified, consistent approach to ancient technologies, teaching readers to look for insights revealed by comparisons among them. Without seeking to replace traditional studies of specific technologies, it explores the range of archaeological approaches to technologies by enabling comparisons across types of crafts. These comparisons in turn reveal how archaeological specialists have used technology studies to address a wide variety of social questions about our ancestors. With case studies organized by process or functional topic rather than material type, Professor Miller's scholarship creates a framework for collaboration among researchers in different locations working in different disciplines, traditions, and approaches.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1598744747
• ISBN 13: 9781598744743
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320