ANT 4068H S – ARCHAEOLOGY of TECHNOLOGY
Spring 2011, Anthropology, University of Toronto
Course Web Page: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~w3hmlmil/4068S2011.htm
Dr. Heather M.-L. Miller
Office: 208 North Building, UTM (or 236 Anthro Building, St. George)
Phone: UTM: 905-828-3741 (Tuesdays)
Email: heather.miller@utoronto.ca
Class meeting at UTM:
Office Hour:
Open Lab Time at UTM:
217 North
217 North
221 North
Tuesdays 2-5
Tuesdays 5-6
By appointment, Tues and most Sun
Course Description
Although designated as an archaeology course, this course approaches past
technologies from a variety of perspectives: through readings and discussion of major
theoretical topics; through analysis of archaeological data; through ethnographic videos
and accounts; and through hands-on techniques of reconstruction, experimentation and
analysis.
Technology will be studied both from the perspective of the modern scholar,
focusing on the major methods archaeologists and others have used to study ancient
technology, and from the perspective of the ancient craftsperson, focusing on basic
production, organization, and consumption for a number of crafts.
A number of themes in the study of technology will be examined, such as
organization and control of production, style of technology, and the value of objects.
Throughout, social and cultural as well as economic and functional reasons for the
development and adoption of new technologies will be discussed.
Readings
REQUIRED
(1) Miller, Heather M.-L., 2007. Archaeological Approaches to Technology. Formerly
Elsevier (Academic Press), currently Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA.
This book is available from Amazon (.com is significantly less expensive than .ca),
or free via Google Books and other online sources (search by the full title). Used
copies may be available from undergraduates at UTM – contact Dr. Miller.
(2) Pdfs of the remaining reading selections will be available on the course Blackboard
website. (Journal articles marked with a * are available electronically through the
library, and will not be posted.) Readings for classes related to specific student
interests will be added to the website within the first two weeks of the course.
RECOMMENDED
The bibliography of Miller (2007) includes full references for a number of books and
articles that are key background references for this class, your research, and future
teaching. If you can buy them now, do so. Otherwise, plan for the future. Please ask
me to recommend critical texts for your particular topic(s) of interest, and also check the
recommendations in appropriate sections of Miller.
Note: If you are having trouble finding recommended books, the UTM bookstore will order the book
at cost (no shipping fees) if you pay at the time of ordering.
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Course Requirements and Grading
The course mark will depend on participation and on a final project, with the following
weighting:
[1] 10% for participation in class. This includes class attendance, critical discussion of
readings, and involvement in labs. Students may be assigned as discussion leaders for
particular classes/articles.
[2] 20% for 'position papers' submitted for each class with assigned reading (10).
These short statements (ca. 1 page single-spaced, 12 pt. font) should summarize and
discuss any major theme in the group of readings for that class. These are due at the
beginning of class. No credit is possible for late papers, unless you miss a class due to
illness.
[3] 70% for course project. Each student will do an individual project examining the role
of technology in a past society, based on the experimental or replicative investigation of
an ancient object or manufacturing technique. This project with be presented orally to
the class, and also as a written document in the form of either a formal paper/article or
the design for a museum display. Various steps will be submitted so the instructor can
provide the maximum feedback on your project. Past papers have gone on to become
conference presentations, published papers, or the foundation for dissertation research.
Topic Statement (1-2 paragraphs at least)
Outline of Project (Research & Production)
20-30 minute Class Presentation
Written Paper
(no mark, but I will tell you how
I would have marked it)
10%
25%
35%
70%
More information about these various stages of the project will be provided in a
separate handout.
NOTE: Late assignments will lose 10% of the value of the assignment per
calendar day, including weekends. 5% will be deducted for assignments turned in
after the first hour of class on the date due, even if the assignment is turned in on
the due date. It is the student’s responsibility to turn in late assignments to me; no
emailed assignment is considered to be received until I have sent a verification email.
For paper copies, I am only available at UTM on Tuesdays; you will have to come to St.
George on Thurs. or Fridays.
Lab Work for Individual Projects
We are only able to do a few hands-on projects in class. Possibilities include:
flintknapping and stone bead production; clay and pottery production; lost wax casting.
Depending on the topics chosen and the number of students in the class, labs related
to individual projects may be incorporated into the class labs. In addition, if I meet with
students outside of class to do further lab work related to their individual topics, other
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students are welcome to attend any sessions of interest, whether related to their own
projects or not.
Class Schedule
Week Topics
Jan. Discussion Themes: Overview and Introduction:
11
Themes in Ancient Technology ; Discussion of
Potential Projects
Jan.
18
Jan.
25
Carrot Lab
Discussion Themes: Ancient Technology –
Definitions, Archaeological methods, Analogy;
Concepts of Technological Systems
Film for next week’s topic (Stone/Lithics):
Flintknapping with Bruce Bradley
Discussion Themes: Stone/Lithics technology;
Organization of production
Demo/Slides: Stone Bead Production in Khambat,
India (agates-chipped) and in Peshawar, Pakistan
(talc/steatite & lapis-sawn).
Additional References: Kenoyer, Vidale &. Bhan (1994);
Roux (2000), Roux et al. (1995) – will read later
Flintknapping Demo & Lab – Dr. Jeff Bursey
Feb. 1 TOPIC STATEMENTS DUE THIS WEEK!
Discussion Themes: Extractive-Reductive Crafts
(Stone, Fibers, Sculpted Organics– also hides, etc.);
Production of Sculpted organics; Organization of
production
Readings
(1) Miller Chapters 1 and 2, Ch. 7
(2) Franklin (1992[1990]): 11-35, 55-75.
(3) Bleed (2001)
(4) Skibo & Shiffer (2001)
(1) Miller, part 1 of Ch. 3 (41-65 –
stone)
(2) Chazan (2010)
(3) Kenoyer et al. (1991)
(4) Vidale (1995): skim for methods,
not details
(1) Miller Ch. 3; review Ch. 2;
(2) McGhee (1977)
(3) Wake (1999)
(4) Russell (2001)
Demo/Slides: Fibers; Groove & Snap Lab (Steatite)
Films for next week’s topic (Fired Clay – Pottery):
Maria. Indian Pottery Maker of San Ildefonso.
The Potters of Thrapsano
Feb. 8 Discussion Themes: Clay/Pottery technology;
Organization of production.
Demo/Slides: Processing raw clay; Temper Types;
Handbuilt & thrown pottery (pinched/drawn, slab, coil,
wheel).
Feb.
Film for next week’s topic (Metals): Dhokra: The Lost
Wax Process in India
Discussion Themes: Metal technology; Organization
(1) Miller, part 1 of Ch. 4 (101-128,
Intro + Fired Clay)
(2) Sinopoli (2003): 13-37
(3) Shah (1985): 15-28
(4) van der Leeuw (1993): 238-245
only
(5) Chilton (1998)
(1) Miller, part 3 of Ch. 4 (144-166,
3
15
of production; technological style
Demo/Slides: Ashante (West African) Lost Wax
Casting; metal working
Feb. READING WEEK
22
– contact Dr. Miller for help with project outlines
Mar. 1 OUTLINE OF PROJECTS DUE THIS WEEK!
Discussion Themes: Technological Systems;
Organization of Labour; Innovation & Tradition
Think about the varying methods of organization of
work & the various distribution systems in the readings
AND in the videos to date; try to outline some examples
for yourself.
Film: The Dogrib Birchbark Canoe
Mar. 8 Discussion Themes: Learning and Skill;
Apprenticeship
Films for Skill & FIBERS:
The World According to Basketry
The Art of Guetemalan Weaving
Mar.
15
Discussion Themes: Style of Object, Style of
Production (Technological style);
Social Boundaries and Cultural Traditions
Additional Reference: Dobres & Hoffman (1995, 1999)
Mar.
22
Discussion Themes:
Value & Status (+ VITREOUS SILICATES);
Material Culture Meanings & Values (in various
disciplines)
Mar.
29
Discussion Themes: Ritual & Symbolism
Technological process of ritual practices &
Rituals in Technological processes
Film: Sandpainting: A Navajo Tradition
Apr. 5 PRESENTATIONS in class (8 at 15-20 minutes each)
Metals)
(2) Horne (1987) – lost wax technique
(3) Hosler (1994) – materials
(4) Goldstein & Shimada (2007)
(1) Miller, part 1 & 2 of Ch. 5 (167-191,
Techno systems, Innovation; Labor)
(2) Costin (2001): sections 1, 2, 8 & 9 +
read headings of 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 and
skim sections of interest to you.
(3) Torrence & van der Leeuw (1989)
(4) Kingery, W.D (1993)
(5) Bleed (2001) – review from Jan 18
(6) Sinopoli (2003) – review from Feb 8
(1) Review Miller on fibers (ch. 3)
(2)Wendrich 1999: pp. 1-4, 389-394,
419-426.
(3) Crown (2001)
(4) Roux et al. (1995)
(5) Kenoyer et al. (1991) – review from
Jan 25
(6) Creese (in press)
(1) Miller, part 3 Ch. 5 (191-201,
Technological Style)
(2) Hegmon (1992) – style
(3) Wright (2002) – technological style
(4) Stark (1998)
(5) Hosler (1994) – techno style –
review from Feb 15
(6) Costin (2001) – review from Mar 1
(1) Miller, part 2 Ch. 4 (128-144,
vitreous silicates); part 1 Ch. 6 (203226, Value)
(2) In Lubar & Kingery (1993):
(a) Friedel, pp. 41-50, and
(b) Csikszentmihalyi, pp. 20-29.
(3) Jones (1990)
(1) Miller, section 2 of Ch. 6 (ritual)
(2) Vandiver et al. (1989)
(3) Clark (2009)
(4) Review Shah (1985) from Feb 8
PAPER DUE by April 21, 5 pm (Thursday)
FIRING DAY – To be scheduled
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Other Possible Topics covered in past classes
Agricultural Systems; Architecture; Food Preparation; Hunting; Medicine; Writing
(Communication)
References
Arnold, Jeanne E. 1995. Transportation Innovation and Social Complexity among Maritime Hunter-Gatherer
Societies. American Anthropologist 97(4):733-747.
Bleed, Peter. 2001. Artifice Constrained: What Determines Technological Choice? In: Michael B. Schiffer (ed),
Anthropological Perspectives on Technology. Amerind Foundation New World studies series, no. 5.
Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. Pp. 151-162.
Chazan, Michael, 2010. Technological Perspectives on the Upper Paleolithic. Evolutionary Anthropology 19:57-65.
Chilton, Elizabeth S., 1998. The Cultural Origins of Technological Choice: Unraveling Algonquian and Iroquoian
Ceramic Traditions in the Northeast. In: Miriam T. Stark (ed), The Archaeology of Social Boundaries.
Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 132-160.
Clark, Sherri, 2009. Material Matters: Representation and Materiality of the Harappan Body. Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory 16:231-261.
Creese, John, in press. Social Contexts of Learning and Individual Motor-performance. In: Willeke Wendrich (ed.)
Apprenticeship in Archaeology. University of Arizona Press.
Costin, Cathy Lynne, 2001. Craft Production Systems. In: Gary M. Feinman & T.Douglas Price (eds), Archaeology
at the Millennium: A Sourcebook. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Pp. 273-327.
Crown, Patricia L. 2001. Learning to Make Pottery in the Prehispanic American Southwest. Journal of
Anthropological Research 57:451-469.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1993. Why We Need Things, In: Steven Lubar & W. David Kingery (eds), History From
Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 20-29.
Dobres, Marcia-Anne & Christopher R. Hoffman. 1995. Social Agency and the Dynamics of Prehistoric Technology.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1(3):211-258. (Important Reference, not assigned; Also see the
1999 volume edited by the same authors, The Social Dynamics of Technology. Blackwell.)
Franklin, Ursula. 1992 [1990]. The Real World of Technology. CBC Massey Lectures Series. Concord, Ontario:
House of Anansi Press.
Friedel, Robert, 1993. Some Matters of Substance, In: Steven Lubar & W. David Kingery (eds), History From
Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 41-50.
Goldstein, David J. and Izumi Shimada, 2007. Middle Sicán Multicraft Production: Resource Management and Labor
Organization. In: Izumi Shimada (ed), Craft Production in Complex Societies. Univ. of Utah Press. Pp. 44-67.
Hegmon, Michelle, 1992. Archaeological Research on Style. Annual Review of Anthropology 21: 517-536.
Horne, Lee. 1987. The Brasscasters of Dariapur, West Bengal: Artisans in a Changing World. Expedition 29(3):
39-46.
Hosler, Dorothy. 1994. Sound, color and meaning in the metallurgy of Ancient West Mexico. World Archaeology
27(1): 100-115.
Jones, Mark. 1990. FAKE? The Art of Deception. BM Magazine. The Journal of the British Museum Society.
Spring 1990, pp. 19-34.
Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark, Massimo Vidale, and Kuldeep Kumar Bhan. 1991. Contemporary stone beadmaking in
Khambhat, India: patterns of craft specialization and organization of production as reflected in the
archaeological record. World Archaeology 23(1):44-63.
Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark, Massimo Vidale & Kuldeep K. Bhan. 1994. Carnelian Bead Production in Khambhat,
India: An Ethnoarchaeological Study. In B. Allchin (ed.) Living Traditions. Studies in the Ethnoarchaeology of
South Asia. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. Pp. 281-306.
Kingery, W. David. 1993. Technological Systems and some Implications with Regard to Continuity and Change, In:
Steven Lubar & W. David Kingery (eds) History From Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington DC:
Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 215-230.
McGhee, Robert. 1977. Ivory for the Sea Woman: The Symbolic Attributes of a Prehistoric Technology. Canadian
Journal of Archaeology 1:141-149.
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Miller, Heather M.-L., 2007. Archaeological Approaches to Technology. Formerly Elsevier (Academic Press),
currently Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. Required Text.
Roux, Valentine. 2000. Cornaline de l'Inde. Des pratiques techniques de Cambay aux techno-systèmes de l'Indus.
Paris: Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme.
Roux, Valentine, Blandine Bril, and Gilles Dietrich. 1995. Skills and learning difficulties involved in stone knapping:
the case of stone-bead knapping in Khambhat, India. World Archaeology 27(1):63-87.
Russell, Nerissa. 2001. Neolithic Relations of Production: Insights from the Bone Tool Industry. In: Crafting Bone:
Skeletal Technologies through Space and Time. Choyke, Alice M. and László Bartosiewicz, eds. BAR
International Series 937. Oxford: Archaeopress. pp. 271-280.
Shah, Haku. 1985. Votive Terracottas of Gujarat. Living Traditions of India Series. New York: Mapin International.
Skibo, James M. and Michael B. Shiffer. 2001. Understanding Artifact Variability and Change: A Behavioral
Framework. In: Schiffer, Michael B. (ed), Anthropological Perspectives on Technology. Amerind Foundation
New World studies series, no. 5. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. Pp. 139-150.
Sinopoli, Carla M. 2003. The Political Economy of Craft Production. Crafting Empire in South India, c. 1350-1650.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Read Ch. 2, summary of archaeological approaches to craft
specialization)
Stark, Miram T., 1998. Technological Choices and Social Boundaries in Material Culture Patterning: An Introduction.
In: Miriam T. Stark (ed), The Archaeology of Social Boundaries. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Pp. 1-11.
Torrence, Robin and Sander E. van der Leeuw. 1989. Introduction: what’s new about innovation? In: Sander E. van
der Leeuw and Robin Torrence (eds), What’s New? A Closer Look at the Process of Innovation. London:
Unwin Hyman. Pp. 1-15.
van der Leeuw, Sander E. 1993. Giving the Potter a Choice: Conceptual aspects of pottery techniques. In Pierre
Lemonnier (ed.), Technological Choices: Transformation in material cultures since the Neolithic. London & NY:
Pp. 238-288.
Vandiver, Pamela B., Olga Soffer, Bohuslav Klima, and Jiri Svoboda. 1989. The Origins of Ceramic Technology at
Dolni Vestonice, Czechoslovakia. Science 246:1002-1008.
Vidale, Massimo. 1995. Early Beadmakers of the Indus Tradition. The Manufacturing Sequence of Talc Beads at
Mehrgarh in the 5th Millennium B.C. East and West 45(1-4): 45-80
Wake, Thomas A. 1999. Exploitation of Tradition: Bone Tool Production and Use at Colony Ross, California. In:
The Social Dynamics of Technology. Practice, Politics, and World Views. Dobres, Marcia-Anne and
Christopher R. Hoffman, eds. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 186-208.
Wendrich, Willeke. 1999. The World According to Basketry. An Ethno-archaeological Interpretation of Basketry
Production in Egypt. Leiden, Netherlands: Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies (CNWS),
Universiteit Leiden. (Read sections indicted on skill and apprenticeship.)
Wright, Rita P., 2002. Revisiting Interaction Spheres – Social Boundaries and Technologies on Inner and Outermost
Frontiers. Iranica Antiqua 37: 403-417.
Videos
The Art of Guatemalan Weaving. 2000. Produced by Jan Olsen in highland Guatemala in 1999. 30 min. Jan Olsen,
6719 106 St., Edmonton, Alberta T6H 2W1, sabar@compusmart.ab.ca.
Dhokra: The Lost Wax Process in India, 1989, produced by David J. Capers in Orissa, India. 26 min.
The Dogrib Birchbark Canoe (Tliicho K’iela), 1997, Dogrib Divisional Board of Education & Lone Woolf Television
Production Services. Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional High School, Northwest Territories. 29 min.
Flintknapping with Bruce Bradley. 1989. Produced by INTERpark, Cortez, CO. ca. 55 min.
Maria. Indian Pottery Maker of San Ildefonso. 19xx? US National Park Service. 27 min. (manufacture of handmade
pottery from clay collection to firing by Maria Martinez & her son)
The Potters of Thrapsano: A Modern Workshop with Clues to Ancient Technology. 1999. Cinegraphic Films. 27
min. (large jar manufacture using a combination of handmade & wheelmade sections, pottery workshop on
Crete)
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Sandpainting. A Navajo Tradition. 19xx? Produced by INTERpark, Cortez, CO. 37 min.
Wendrich, Willeke. 1999. The World According to Basketry. Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian
Studies (CNWS), Universiteit Leiden Video ca. 60 min. ISBN 90-5789-035-6
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