How did the United States become the world's largest consumer of energy? David Nye shows that this is less a question about the development of technology than it is a question about the development of culture. In Consuming Power, Nye uses energy as a touchstone to examine the lives of ordinary people engaged in normal activities. He looks at how these activities changed as new energy systems were constructed, from colonial times to recent years. He also shows how, as Americans incorporated new machines and processes into their lives, they became ensnared in power systems that were...
How did the United States become the world's largest consumer of energy? David Nye shows that this is less a question about the development of tech...
In this work, the anthropological theorist, Michael Brian Schiffer, presents a challenge to the social sciences. Through a broad range of examples, he demonstrates how theories of behaviour and communication have too often ignored the fundamental importance of objects in human life. In this work the author builds upon the premise that the most important feature of human life is not symbolic language but the incessant and diverse transactions which take place between people and myriad artefacts. The author shows that artefacts are involved in all modes of human communication - be they visual,...
In this work, the anthropological theorist, Michael Brian Schiffer, presents a challenge to the social sciences. Through a broad range of examples, he...
Most of us know--at least we've heard--that Benjamin Franklin conducted some kind of electrical experiment with a kite. What few of us realize--and what this book makes powerfully clear--is that Franklin played a major role in laying the foundations of modern electrical science and technology. This fast-paced book, rich with historical details and anecdotes, brings to life Franklin, the large international network of scientists and inventors in which he played a key role, and their amazing inventions. We learn what these early electrical devices--from lights and motors to musical and medical...
Most of us know--at least we've heard--that Benjamin Franklin conducted some kind of electrical experiment with a kite. What few of us realize--and wh...
As an artifact of culture, the portable radio is an unusual but perfect subject for investigation by archaeologist Schiffer. Seeing the history of everyday objects as the history of the life of a people, he shows how the portable radio has reflected changes in American society as surely as clay pots have for ancient cultures.
As an artifact of culture, the portable radio is an unusual but perfect subject for investigation by archaeologist Schiffer. Seeing the histor...
Behavioral archaeology is an emerging branch of anthropology emphasizing the study of relationships between human behavior and artifacts (material culture) in all times and places. As such, it aspires to make contributions beyond the confines of archaeology to other behavioral sciences and to society in general. "Behavioral Archaeology" is a selection of writings by Michael Schiffer, one of the field s primary proponents. The chapters include important works published between 1972 and 1987, the formative period of behavioral archaeology. Schiffer has crafted a lengthy introduction to...
Behavioral archaeology is an emerging branch of anthropology emphasizing the study of relationships between human behavior and artifacts (material ...
This handbook synthesizes the most important principles of cultural and environmental formation processes for both students and practicing archaeologists. Formation Process of the Archaeological Record embodies a vision that the cultural past is knowable, but only when the nature of the evidence is thoroughly understood. It shows how the past is accessible in practice by identifying variability introduced by the diverse effects of people and nature that in some sum, form the archaeological record. For students, it is intended as both an introduction and guide in method and...
This handbook synthesizes the most important principles of cultural and environmental formation processes for both students and practicing archaeol...
The publication in 1962 of Lew Binford s paper "Archaeology as Anthropology" is generally considered to mark the birth of processualism a critical turning point in American archaeology. In the hands of Binford and other young University of Chicago graduates of the 1960s, this "new" archaeology became the mainstream approach in the U.S. The realignment that the processualists proposed was so thorough that its effects are still being felt today. Predictably, processualism also spun off a number of other "isms," several of which grew up to challenge its supremacy. "Archaeology as a Process"...
The publication in 1962 of Lew Binford s paper "Archaeology as Anthropology" is generally considered to mark the birth of processualism a critical tur...
Human societies have always been characterized by a dependence on artifacts, from prehistoric stone tools to modern electronic devices. Technology responds to and affects virtually all human behavior; yet the interdependence of behavior and artifacts has never been studied intensively. Archaeologist Schiffer now draws on his discipline's familiarity with artifacts--and the processes of change they reveal--to offer new insight into the study of behavioral change. Drawing on case studies that deal with changes in architecture, ceramics and electronic technology, he emphasizes the central idea...
Human societies have always been characterized by a dependence on artifacts, from prehistoric stone tools to modern electronic devices. Technology res...
These fourteen original essays accept a dual premise: technology pervades and is embedded in all human activities. By taking that approach, studies of technology address two questions central in anthropological and archaeological research today-accounting for variability and change. These diverse yet interrelated chapters show that to understand human lives, researchers must deal with the material world that all peoples create and inhabit. Therefore an anthropology of technology is not a separate, discrete inquiry; instead, it is a way to connect how people make and use things to any activity...
These fourteen original essays accept a dual premise: technology pervades and is embedded in all human activities. By taking that approach, studies of...
The tumultuous history of inventors and corporations who have tried to bring the electric car to the market. Amazingly, in 1900 28 percent of all cars were electric. By 1920 the electric car had all but vanished and gas-powered cars dominated the market. In Taking Charge, Schiffer deftly explores how cultural factors, not technological ones, explain the rise of gas-guzzling cars. Schiffer brings the history of the electric car into the present, arguing that despite the Detroit Big Three's reluctance to make electric cars, their time has finally arrived.
The tumultuous history of inventors and corporations who have tried to bring the electric car to the market. Amazingly, in 1900 28 percent of all ...
