[Bonetools] Info and thoughts on craft learning

[Petar Zidarov]

Dear Liye,You may find some useful illustration of case studies of what could arguably be described as cases of apprenticeship in carving prehistoric bone figurines from Bulgaria and Romania dating towards the third quarter of the 5th mill BC. They are published in a paper I co-authored in 2014 with Aline Averbouh in the excellent volume of the meeting in Targoviste (Romania) edited by Monica Mărgărit, Gaëlle Le Dosseur & Aline Averbouh. There we illustrated some unfinished figurines that had notches in the places where incised decoration had to be executed suggesting to me that an experienced hand have left guidelines for his apprentice to carve the ornaments in a case of relatively standardized "mass production". Here is a link you could consult: https://www.academia.edu/9817269/The_production_of_bone_figurines_in_the_Balkan_Chalcolithic_and_the_use_of_debitage_by_extraction_Produc%C8%9Bia_figurinelor_din_os_%C3%AEn_calcoliticul_balcanic_%C8%99i_utilizarea_debitajului_prin_extrac%C8%9BieI hope it works for you and anyone who may be interested in that topic.With best wishes,Petar
--  Petar Zidarov Vitoshki ezera 3aBG-1434 Sofia, BULGARIA cell phone: +359 898 347 252
https://uni-tuebingen.academia.edu/PetarZidarov
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petar_Zidarov2
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9968-7786

Eberhard-Karls Universität TübingenInstitut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Jüngere Abt.Schloss Hohentübingen72070 Tübingen, GERMANY
 

    On Thursday, September 16, 2021, 11:51:30 PM GMT+3, Liye Xie <liye.xie at utoronto.ca> wrote:  
 
 
Thank you very much, Christian! I look forward to reading your paper later today.
 
Thank you,
 
-Liye
 
  
 
  
 
From: Bonetools <bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu> On Behalf Of Christian Gates St-Pierre
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 4:06 PM
To: bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] Info and thoughts on craft learning
 
  
 
Dear Liye,
 
  
 
That's a very interesting question, especially the binary learning system you describe. I don't know of any other instance of such a system, unfortunately. However, I have addressed the issue of technological learning, and more especially the social sharing or technological knowledge regarding bone tool production in a publication of mine, which I place in attachment to this message (sorry for the self-promotion). Hope this helps.
 
  
 
Christian
 
  
 
  
 
Christian Gates St-Pierre
Professeur adjoint
 
Département d'anthropologie
 
Université de Montréal
Pavillon Lionel-Groulx
C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville
Montréal, Québec, Canada
H3C 3J7
514.343.6111, poste 51711
 
  
 
  
 
On Thursday, September 16, 2021, 01:23:44 p.m. GMT-4, Liye Xie <liye.xie at utoronto.ca> wrote:
 
  
 
  
 
Hello everyone,
 
 
 
I am seeking help from this incredibly resourceful and knowledgeable group.
 
 
 
I am working on a paper on the learning patterns of bone shovel production in the Neolithic Hemudu culture in eastern China. It appears to me that the Hemudu people had a binary system for maintaining their bone shovel tradition, meaning they conformed to the social norms in terms of object style and raw material preference but relied on self-learning to produce the tools. This combination of social learning and self-learning for an object that was likely tied to a group identity seems odd to me. Because, honestly, I naively expected to find evidence for communities of practice or at least some sort of formal training to maintain an almost iconic object of society. 
 
 
 
I have been trying to find comparable studies on cultural transmission and ways of maintaining technological tradition. But, unfortunately, the case studies I have seen so far are primarily on pottery and lithic productions. In addition, I couldn’t find any mention of a binary learning system as such. Therefore, I wondered if you could point me to relevant publications on bone tools or a binary learning system for any crafts. 
 
 
 
I understand everyone is very busy. I would appreciate any information or thoughts you could share.
 
 
 
Thank you.
 
 
 
-Liye
 
 
 
Dr. Liye Xie        
 
Associate Professor & Associate Chair
 
Department of Anthropology
 
University of Toronto Mississauga
 
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Liye-Xie
 
https://www.anthropology.utoronto.ca/people/directories/all-faculty/liye-xie/
 
 
 
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