Archaeological ceramics

Archaeological ceramics is a blog for exploring and sharing the world of ceramics ... objects that are linked from the remote past with the contact of people with land, water as well as fire. Making ceramics involve a process of creation that supports to communicate and explore our own ideas.

Thursday 1 December 2011

What does technology mean?


Technological traditions can be defined as the utilisation of concrete technical solutions and specific operative chains that existed in specific historical and social contexts. In this way, technological traditions can be representative and characteristic of particular necessities in the society. Continuous repetition of behaviours, technical gestures and sequences in time and place developed the establishment of technological traditions strongly related to savoir faire, habitus and rationale schemes. The advancement of technology thus requires both technical and social knowledge for developing and ensuring its continued survival. The persistence of technological traditions is strongly related to specific knowledge transmission processes, learning contexts and the skill of the individuals. People learn how to get raw materials and the “correct ways” for producing and using material from their cultural interactions. By identifying recipes, technological traditions and the quality of the final products in their cultural context, we can understand why pottery undergoes change or remains unchanged. Technological recipes therefore constitute rules that favour cultural identity and control over the fabrication processes, as well as the social organisation involved in the production of pottery vessels

Tuesday 29 November 2011