Making art, making society: the social significance of smallscale innovations and experimentation in Palaeolithic portable art
Making art, making society: the social significance of smallscale innovations and experimentation in Palaeolithic portable art
This paper discusses how the making of art – the materials, techniques, and gestures used during production – was culturally meaningful and socially variable during the European Upper Palaeolithic. Although much previous research has focused on persistent and functional innovations, studying small-scale and ephemeral innovations reveals the extent to which technological experimentation had an impact on artistic expression. Comparing the record of several archaeological sites purported to be in the same technocomplex helps to differentiate the presence of ‘social boundaries’ (sensu Dietler and Herbich 1998) and discern the extent to which groups shared knowledge and cultural, technical, and artistic traditions. In this paper, ceramic art from two distinct contexts (Czech Republic at c. 30,000 BP and Croatia at c. 17,500 BP) will be discussed to explore the role of small-scale innovation in shaping and transforming Upper Palaeolithic art and society.
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Farbstein, Rebecca
54cac522-b7f7-4f5f-9ac1-7d6db126e8e2
2013
Farbstein, Rebecca
54cac522-b7f7-4f5f-9ac1-7d6db126e8e2
Farbstein, Rebecca
(2013)
Making art, making society: the social significance of smallscale innovations and experimentation in Palaeolithic portable art.
[in special issue: Art Makes Society]
World Art, 3 (1), .
(doi:10.1080/21500894.2013.773935).
Abstract
This paper discusses how the making of art – the materials, techniques, and gestures used during production – was culturally meaningful and socially variable during the European Upper Palaeolithic. Although much previous research has focused on persistent and functional innovations, studying small-scale and ephemeral innovations reveals the extent to which technological experimentation had an impact on artistic expression. Comparing the record of several archaeological sites purported to be in the same technocomplex helps to differentiate the presence of ‘social boundaries’ (sensu Dietler and Herbich 1998) and discern the extent to which groups shared knowledge and cultural, technical, and artistic traditions. In this paper, ceramic art from two distinct contexts (Czech Republic at c. 30,000 BP and Croatia at c. 17,500 BP) will be discussed to explore the role of small-scale innovation in shaping and transforming Upper Palaeolithic art and society.
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Published date: 2013
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Archaeology
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Local EPrints ID: 362547
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/362547
ISSN: 2150-0894
PURE UUID: 35840b9d-40d2-491a-826d-726b327b9754
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Date deposited: 27 Feb 2014 11:29
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 16:09
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Rebecca Farbstein
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