Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2015
Department 1
Anthropology
Abstract
The study of craft production has a long and venerable history in archaeological research on ancient societies. In this chapter, I consider the crafting of useful and desired things from a materiality perspective by looking at the interactions between the craftpersons, the materials with which they work, and the ways that their end products are valued in society. I use two examples: working with fibers by the Maya of Mesoamerica and with metals by the Moche of Andean South America. These are two very different kinds of materials whose characteristics affect how one interacts with them. Crafting was a part of everyday life for the Maya and Moche. Through these two case studies I illustrate the role crafting plays in the development of identities and personhood, in the process contributing to the meaning of everyday life to people in these societies.
Copyright Note
This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1111/apaa.12068
Recommended Citation
Hendon, Julia A. "Producing Goods, Shaping People: The Materiality of Crafting." Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 26.1 (September 2015), 149-165.
Required Publisher's Statement
Original version is available from the publisher at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apaa.12068/abstract
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, International and Area Studies Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons