Technology as human social tradition [Texte imprimé] : cultural transmission among Hunter-Gatherers / Peter Jordan

"This book examines three interlocking topics that are central to all archaeological and anthropological inquiry: the role of technology in human existence; the reproduction of social traditions; the factors that generate cultural diversity and change. The overall aim is to outline a new kind of approach for researching variability and transformation in human material culture, and the main argument is that these technological traditions exhibit heritable continuity: they consist of information stored in human brains and then passed onto others through social learning. Technological traditions can therefore be understood as manifestations of a complex transmission system, and applying this new perspective to human material culture builds on, but also largely transcends, much of the earlier work conducted by archaeologists and anthropologists into the significance, function and social meanings associated with tools, objects and vernacular architecture"-- Provided by publisher

Bibliogr. p. [383]-402

Machine generated contents note: Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Data Sets -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Methodology -- 3. Northwest Siberia -- 4. Pacific Northwest Coast -- 5. Northern California -- 6. Conclusions -- Appendix: Mantel Matrix Correlations -- References -- Index