Schiffer, Michael B.
Pages : 241
Publisher : University of Utah Press
Date Published : 05/2011
Studying Technological Change synthesizes
nearly four decades of research by Michael Brian Schiffer, a cofounder
of the field of behavioral archaeology. This new book asks historical
and scientific questions about the interaction of people with artifacts
during all times and in all places. The book is not about the history or
prehistory of technology, nor is it a catalog of methods and techniques
for inferring how specific technologies were made or used. Rather, it
supplies conceptual tools that can be used to help craft an explanation
of any technological change in any society.
The behavioral
approach leads to new questions, creative research employing diverse
lines of evidence, and, often, counterintuitive explanations. In
behavioral archaeology, one never loses sight of the materiality of
human behavior. Needless to say, advocates of other research approaches
will find much in this book to dispute. But critics cannot gainsay the
productivity of the behavioral approach nor the fact that it has
furnished fresh insights into episodes of technological change.
Download: