Technology as Human Social Tradition: Cultural Transmission among Hunter-Gatherers (Volume 7) (Origins of Human Behavior and Culture)

Technology as Human Social Tradition outlines a novel approach to studying variability and cumulative change in human technology―prominent research themes in both archaeology and anthropology. Peter Jordan argues that human material culture is best understood as an expression of social tradition. In this approach, each artifact stands as an output of a distinctive operational sequence with specific choices made at each stage in its production. Jordan also explores different material culture traditions that are propagated through social learning, factors that promote coherent lineages of tradition to form, and the extent to which these cultural lineages exhibit congruence with one another and with language history. Drawing on the application of cultural transmission theory to empirical research, Jordan develops a descent-with-modification perspective on the technology of Northern Hemisphere hunter-gatherers. Case studies from indigenous societies in Northwest Siberia, the Pacific Northwest Coast, and Northern California provide cross-cultural insights related to the evolution of material culture traditions at different social and spatial scales. This book promises new ways of exploring some of the primary factors that generate human cultural diversity in the deep past and through to the present. Phylogeography of California examines the evolution of a variety of taxa—ancient and recent, native and migratory—to elucidate evolutionary events both major and minor that shaped the distribution, radiation, and speciation of the biota of California. The book also interprets evolutionary history in a geological context and reviews new and emerging phylogeographic patterns. Focusing on a region that is defined by physical and political boundaries, Kristina A. Schierenbeck provides a phylogeographic survey of California's diverse flora and fauna according to their major organismal groups. Life history and ecological characteristics, which play prominent roles in the various outcomes for respective clades, are also considered throughout the work. Supporting scholars and researchers who study evolutionary diversification, the book analyzes research that helps assess one of the major challenges in phylogeographic studies: understanding changes in population structures shaped by geological and geographical processes. California is one of only twenty-five acknowledged biological hotspots worldwide, and the phylogeographic history of the state can be extrapolated to study other regions in western North America. Further consideration is given to implications for conservation, recommendations concerning the biogeographic provinces that roughly define the state of California, and predictions related to climate change. This Book Examines Three Interlocking Topics That Are Central To All Archaeological And Anthropological Inquiry: The Role Of Technology In Human Existence; The Reproduction Of Social Traditions; The Factors That Generate Cultural Diversity And Change. The Overall Aim Is To Outline A New Kind Of Approach For Researching Variability And Transformation In Human Material Culture, And The Main Argument Is That These Technological Traditions Exhibit Heritable Continuity: They Consist Of Information Stored In Human Brains And Then Passed Onto Others Through Social Learning. Technological Traditions Can Therefore Be Understood As Manifestations Of A Complex Transmission System, And Applying This New Perspective To Human Material Culture Builds On, But Also Largely Transcends, Much Of The Earlier Work Conducted By Archaeologists And Anthropologists Into The Significance, Function And Social Meanings Associated With Tools, Objects And Vernacular Architecture-- 1. Introduction -- 2. Methodology -- 3. Northwest Siberia -- 4. Pacific Northwest Coast -- 5. Northern California -- 6. Conclusions -- Appendix: Mantel Matrix Correlations. Peter Jordan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "This book examines three interlocking topics that are central to all archaeological and anthropological inquiry: the role of technology in human existence; the reproduction of social traditions; the factors that generate cultural diversity and change. The overall aim is to outline a new kind of approach for researching variability and transformation in human material culture, and the main argument is that these technological traditions exhibit heritable continuity: they consist of information stored in human brains and then passed onto others through social learning. Technological traditions can therefore be understood as manifestations of a complex transmission system, and applying this new perspective to human material culture builds on, but also largely transcends, much of the earlier work conducted by archaeologists and anthropologists into the significance, function and social meanings associated with tools, objects and vernacular architecture"-- Provided by publisher "This book examines three interlocking topics that are central to all archaeological and anthropological inquiry: the role of technology in human existence; the reproduction of social traditions; the factors that generate cultural diversity and change. The overall aim is to outline a new kind of approach for researching variability and transformation in human material culture, and the main argument is that these technological traditions exhibit heritable continuity: they consist of information stored in human brains and then passed onto others through social learning. Technological traditions can therefore be understood as manifestations of a complex transmission system, and applying this new perspective to human material culture builds on, but also largely transcends, much of the earlier work conducted by archaeologists and anthropologists into the significance, function and social meanings associated with tools, objects and vernacular architecture"--Résumé de l'éditeur 'Phylogeography of California' examines the evolution of ancient, recent, native, and migratory taxa to elucidate the major and minor evolutionary events that shaped the distribution, radiation, and speciation of the biota of California. This work examines and interprets the evolutionary history of the biota in California in a geological context, and it also examines any subsequent patterns in regional diversity that have emerged across combined phylogenies Examines the evolution of a variety of taxa ancient and recent, native and migratory to elucidate evolutionary events both major and minor that shaped the distribution, radiation, and speciation of the biota of California. This book also interprets evolutionary history in a geological context and reviews new and emerging phylogeographic patterns. Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Note on Data Sets 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 3. Northwest Siberia 4. Pacific Northwest Coast 5. Northern California 6. Conclusions Appendix: Mantel Matrix Correlations References Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T V W Y