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The Logic of Ceramic Technology in Marginal Environments: Implications for Mobile Life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Camilla Sturm ,
Julia K. Clark  and
Loukas Barton
Camilla Sturm*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Julia K. Clark
Affiliation:
American Center for Mongolian Studies, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 14251
Loukas Barton
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
*
(cak95@pitt.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technological adoption and change. While many arguments focus on the economic merits of pots, few have attempted to trace the conditions that promote or deter the adoption of pottery. This is especially true for the use of pottery by mobile peoples. We adapt an established model of technological investment to draw attention to three key variables affecting pottery adoption: manufacturing time, utility, and use time. We use the logic of this model to examine how social and environmental contexts, specifically residential mobility in marginal environments, impacts use of and investment in ceramic technology. We further illustrate how the model can be used to reveal seasonal patterns of behavior from the spatial distribution of pottery discarded by mobile foragers and herders.

Las explicaciones sobre el uso de contenedores cerámicos como herramientas domésticas utilitarias impregnan la literatura sobre la adopción y cambio tecnológico. Mientras que la mayor parte de los argumentos destacan los méritos económicos de las cerámicas, pocos han intentado rastrear los condicionantes que favorecen o desalientan la adopción de la cerámica. Esto es especialmente cierto en el contexto del uso de cerámica por parte de grupos humanos móviles. A continuación adaptamos un conocido modelo de inversión tecnológica para llamar la atención sobre tres variables clave que afectan a la adopción de la cerámica como tecnología: el tiempo de manufactura, la utilidad y el tiempo de uso. Utilizamos la lógica de este modelo para examinar cómo los contextos sociales y ambientales, específicamente la movilidad residencial en medioambientes marginales, influyen en el uso y la inversión en tecnología cerámica. Luego mostramos cómo este modelo puede ser utilizado para revelar patrones de comportamiento estacional a partir de la distribución espacial de cerámicas desechadas por cazadores-recolectores y pastores.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 4 , October 2016 , pp. 645 - 663
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016 

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References

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