[Bonetools] SAA symposium on Raw Materials and Technological Choice

[Margaris, Amy V.]

Dear colleagues,

Greetings! We warmly invite you to participate in a proposed symposium for
the April 2012 Society for American Archaeology (SAA) meeting in Memphis,
Tennessee (USA), on the topic of *Raw Material Perspectives on Technological
Choice and Change*

*Session Organizers:* Amy Margaris (Oberlin College) & Liye Xie (University
of Arizona)

*Discussant *(pending session scheduling): Steve Kuhn (University of
Arizona)

Here is the session abstract:

“Raw material has long been regarded as an essential component of human
endeavors. But to truly understand technological choices and changes in the
past we need further integrative studies that investigate the dynamic
contexts in which one raw material is selected over another based on
functional, social, or ideological factors. This symposium will provide a
venue to discuss raw material selection practices in a number of
archaeological or ethnographic contexts. It promises to bring together a
diverse group of researchers while revealing trends across time and space
that will contribute to theory-building about variation and change in
technological practices.”

Possibilities for the temporal and geographic scope of contributed papers
are wide open, from studies of the contrasting uses of stone and organic
materials in the Upper Paleolithic to the adoption (or rejection) of
imported iron over local alternatives among indigenous groups. The unifying
theme is how raw materials were selected among competing candidates: What
factors held sway in a group’s acquisition, processing or functional
choices?

We hope you will consider participating in this symposium, and will also
forward the invitation to other interested researchers.

September is not far off, so please email *Amy Margaris (
amy.margaris at oberlin.edu)* as soon as possible if you are interested in
presenting a paper in this symposium.

More information on the conference can be found at
http://www.saa.org/AbouttheSociety/AnnualMeeting/tabid/138/Default.aspx

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Amy Margaris (amy.margaris at oberlin.edu) &

Liye Xie (xiexie1 at email.arizona.edu)




-- 
Amy V. Margaris
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Oberlin College

http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology/

http://sites.google.com/a/oberlin.edu/margaris-amy/
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