Internet Archaeology is very pleased to announce the publication of
"Material Perspectives: Stone Tool Use and Material Culture in
Papua New Guinea" by Karen Hardy a lithic specialist from the University
of Newcastle and Prof. Paul Sillitoe, anthropologist from the University
of Durham.
http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue14/hardy_index.html
Abstract:
The opportunity to study habitual users of flaked tools in an
ethnographic context has always been limited and is now arguably
non-existent. But in 1983, despite having steel tools, stone was still
used for many of the everyday tasks performed by the Wola, of highland
Papua New Guinea. The extensive knowledge of Wola life and material
culture has afforded an opportunity to examine stone tool use within a
broad material and socio-economic framework. This has provided new levels
of contextual information, including the observation of habitual storage
of raw material and tools despite abundant local raw material and an
expedient technology; their important manufacturing role and the use of
tools made from other materials in place of stone for many tasks.
Many aspects of the Wola lithic tradition might be relevant to the
study and understanding of prehistoric stone tool assemblages. Containing
an interactive search of material culture items, large image gallery and
detailed study of the ethnographic assemblage, this article concludes that
in an archaeological context, if information on subsistence and
environment and a greater understanding of tool use were incorporated into
lithic analysis, a clearer picture of the role and place of stone tools
might emerge.
-------
Internet Archaeology has always sought to work with existing
publishers to explore the opportunities presented by a parallel 'mixed
media' approach, combining hardcopy synthesis with an enhanced
multimedia publication. This article is no exception and a short summary
of one section of this article can also be found in the most recent issue
of the print journal Antiquity.
If you or your institution have already subscribed to the 14-15
volume, you can access this article now by selecting the link above.
If not, further information about how to subscribe to the journal can be
found at:
http://intarch.ac.uk/subscriptions.html
We are in the final stages of developing a per-article
subscription system, the launch of which will be announced within the next
2 weeks. The cost per article will be £12.50 (pounds sterling) and as with
volume level access, will purchase permanent access to a selected article.
In the meantime any queries about subscriptions should be directed to
[log in to unmask]
regards,
Judith
---
Judith Winters
Editor, Internet Archaeology
http://intarch.ac.uk
|