Abstract:
Humans are a unique species in relying so heavily on social learning to maintain the knowledge and skills that enable them to thrive in diverse ecological settings. This talk focuses on indigenous hunter-gatherer communities in Northwest Siberia, and examines how local communities employ diverse technologies as part of their cultural adaptations to the sub Arctic ecosystems. It will be argued that the the technology and material culture that they employ are best understood as an expression of social tradition, and will explore how crafting traditions are acquired, adjusted and maintained over human life-spans, investigating how these generate enduring patterns of cultural and linguistic diversity in the region. More generally, the talk consider how different kinds of material culture tradition 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.
Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 15, 8270 Højbjerg, Seminar Room 301
Program
| 09.00-09.15 | Welcome |
09.15-10.00 |
Social Learning, Technology and Cultural Diversity in Northwest Siberia Peter Jordan, Arctic Centre, University of Groningen |
10.00-10.15 | Coffee |
10.15-10.45 | Investigating the co-evolution of cultural traditions on the Pacific northwest coast of North America Sean O’Neill, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University |
10.45-11.15 | Evolutionary Archaeology & Cultural Phylogenetics of the Arctic North: Adaptation, Continuity, and Culture Change, Two Case Studies from North American Arctic Prehistory Matthew J. Walsh, Department of Anthropology, University of Montana |
11.15-11.45 | Discussion
|
