Assessment of the Gripability of Textured Ceramic Surfaces

Boulanger, Matthew; Hudson, Corey

doi:10.7183/0002-7316.77.2.293

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…), abrasion resistance (Skibo et al. ), mechanical stress (Pierce ), and “gripability” (Boulanger and Hudson ). Vessel shape attributes are also measured to identify mechanical performance efficiency.…”

Section: Skeuomorphs Performance and Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Skeuomorphs, Pottery, and Technological Change

Blitz

2015

American Anthropologist

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Skeuomorphs are copies of prototype artifacts replicated in different physical materials in the derivative objects. The skeuomorph copy may or may not have a utilitarian function, and the original function of the prototype attribute may change or become less functional with successive copying. Because skeuomorphs are an imitation of the prototype model, they are iconic representations. Archaeological examples of pottery vessel skeuomorphs are presented and interpreted with evidence from ethnography, psychology, and modern material culture. This review lends support to the proposal that skeuomorphism is a causal factor in technological change. Skeuomorphs facilitate acceptance of innovations in artifacts by (1) materializing the pre-existing familiar value of prototypes as attributes transferred to unfamiliar derivative objects; (2) evoking positive social memories associated with the prototype; and (3) creating broader scales of value by creating novel variants of similar objects. [skeuomorph, pottery, technological change]RESUMEN Los esqueumorfos son copias de los artefactos prototipos replicados en materiales físicos diferentes en los objetos derivativos. La copia esqueumorfa puede o no tener una función utilitaria, y la función original del atributo prototipo puede cambiar o llegar a ser menos funcional con copiado sucesivo. Debido a que esqueumorfos son una imitación del modelo prototipo, ellos son representaciones icónicas. Ejemplos arqueológicos de vasos de cerámicas esqueumorfas son presentados e interpretados con evidencia de etnografía, psicología, y cultura material moderna.Con esta revisión, presté apoyo a la propuesta que esqueumorfismo es un factor causal en cambio tecnológico. Los esqueumorfos facilitan la aceptación de las innovaciones en artefactos al (1) materializar el preexistente valor familiar de los prototipos como atributos transferidos a objetos derivativos no reconocidos; (2) evocar memorias sociales positivas asociadas con el prototipo; y (3) crear escales más amplias de valor diseñando variantes innovadoras de objetos similares. [esqueumorfo, cerámica, cambio tecnológico, arqueología] T he claim that the shapes and surface treatments of early ceramic containers were copies-skeuomorphs-of nonceramic containers is an old observation with considerable history, but U.S. archaeologists rarely discuss its significance for understanding technological change within the archaeological record. Most researchers privilege utilitarian or economic factors in the innovation and adoption of ceramic vessels and other artifacts. I propose that skeuomorphs, which include designs unrelated to utilitarian needs, were instrumental in the acceptance of innovations such as pottery. In presenting this interpretation of the role of skeuomorphs in the innovation and adoption of pottery, I review evidence from archaeology, ethnology, and experimental psychology.First, I introduce skeuomorphism and identify ceramic vessel skeuomorphs. Next, I review archaeological approaches to technological change and consider ...

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Section: Skeuomorphs Performance and Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Skeuomorphs, Pottery, and Technological Change

Blitz

2015

American Anthropologist

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“…Such a relationship is not always immediately obvious because oftentimes the manufacturing process itself is unclear or the functional variability of a tool can encompass a range of interactions. To overcome these obstacles, archaeologists have devised clever methods such as reverse engineering, experimentation, usewear analysis, and mathematical modeling (e.g., Schiffer and Skibo 1989;Skibo et al 1989;Whittaker 1994;Brantingham and Kuhn 2001;Patten 2005;Waguespack et al 2009;Boulanger and Hudson 2012;Eren and Lycett 2012;Lipo et al 2012;Eren et al 2013Eren et al , 2014Key 2013;Lycett and Eren 2013;Miller 2014;Key and Lycett 2015;Smallwood 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Space and Cultural Transmission: Case Studies from Paleoindian Eastern North America

O’Brien

Boulanger

Buchanan

et al. 2015

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Tool design is a cultural trait-a term long used in anthropology as a unit of transmittable information that encodes particular behavioral characteristics of individuals or groups. After they are transmitted, cultural traits serve as units of replication in that they can be modified as part of a cultural repertoire through processes such as recombination, loss, or partial alteration. Artifacts and other components of the archaeological record serve as proxies for studying the transmission (and modification) of cultural traits, provided there is analytical clarity in defining and measuring whatever it is that is being transmitted. Our interest here is in tool design, and we illustrate how to create analytical units that allow us to map tool-design space and to begin to understand how that space was used at different points in time. We first introduce the concept of fitness landscape and impose a model of cultural learning over it, then turn to four methods that are useful for the analysis of design space: paradigmatic classification, phylogenetic analysis, distance graphs, and geometric morphometrics. Each method builds on the others in logical fashion, which allows creation of testable hypotheses concerning cultural transmission and the evolutionary processes that shape it, including invention (mutation), selection, and drift. For examples, we turn to several case studies J Archaeol Method Theory

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