An Archaeology of Interaction: Network Perspectives on Material Culture and Society
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.11 (505 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0198706936 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 262 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-08-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Network analysis has in recent years become highly influential in the study of past human interaction as represented by material culture. "Carl Knappett's An Archaeology of Interaction sets the agenda for archaeological studies of networks. This volume traverses different theoretical approaches with astonishing breadth making it an important resource for archaeologists interested in applying a network perspective in their work, as well as for those more generally interested in contemporary material culture studies."--Barbara Mills, University of Arizona"Carl Knappett's book represents a milestone in the study of archaeological distribution patterns. Knappett shows, through the sk
This innovative volume asserts that it is such 'networks of objects' that instill objects with their power, enabling them to evoke distant times and places for both individuals and communities.Using archaeological case studies from the Bronze Age of Greece throughout, Knappett develops a long-term, archaeological angle on the development of object networks in human societies. He explores the benefits such networks create for human interaction across scales, and the challenges faced by ancient societies in balancing these benefits against their costs. In objectifying and controlling artefacts in networks, human communities can lose track of the recalcitrant pull that artefacts exercise. While this makes anecdotal sense, what does scholarship have to say about the role of artefacts in human thought? Surprisingly, material culture research tends also to focus on individual artefacts. And this failur
Four Stars good
Carl Knappett is Walter Graham/Homer Thompson Professor of Aegean Prehistory at the University of Toronto.