Theme:
5. Theories and methods in archaeology: interactions between disciplines
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
From Novices to Experts: Development and Transmission of Technical Knowledge in Prehistory
Content:
Transmission of knowledge implies social relationships among people that interact during learning processes. The multiple expressions of the Prehistoric societies suggest that different knowledge transmission models probably existed through time, space and social organisations, such as: the autodidactic training, the increasing implication of novices in communities of practice and the selection of pupils taught by an expert. These different systems of learning play a key role in developing social relationships among people and building or reinforcing cognitive capacities of novices approaching new skills.
Nevertheless, addressing these aspects in archaeological field is not an easy task due to the lack of direct behavioural information regarding the interaction between novices and experts and also the difficulty to reconstruct the transmission processes only through the analysis of tools or objects as the final part of a learning sequence. From a methodological point of view, the multidisciplinary approach is currently the preferred method to address the transmission of technical knowledge. Indeed, behavioural and cognitive studies can be extremely helpful in connecting the archaeological data within a wider framework suggesting which human behaviours and cognitive capacities played a key role in these mechanisms. Furthermore, the application of experimental archaeology allows to test hypotheses on learning systems though dedicated and controlled experiments in order to provide interpretative models explaining how knowledge transmission likely worked in prehistoric communities. On these premises, the session aims to bring together scholars interested in apprenticeship systems and skill development to present their researches on prehistoric contexts and discuss the archaeological evidence supporting knowledge transmission, how to methodologically address the reconstruction of learning behaviours and propose models interpreting mechanisms of technical knowledge transmission in ancient human groups.
Keywords:
Prehistory, Technology, Apprenticeship systems, Learning mechanisms, knowledge transmission, Skill
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Vanessa Forte (Italy) 1
Co-organisers:
Nuria Castañeda Clemente (Spain) 2
Francesca Romagnoli (Spain) 2
Affiliations:
1. Laboratory of Technological and Functional Analyses of Prehistoric Artefacts
2. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
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