Jesse Townsley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Jesse Townsley

Jesse Townsley is editor of, and contributor to, the webforum "Lithic Age Art & Design Research". He is also an artist/artscientist and lives in Ithaca, NY, USA.

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Papers by Jesse Townsley

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

Radiocarbon, Feb 1, 2017

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of “Before Present,” as well as “Before Physics,” and promoting Radiocarbon’s official definition of “BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely ‘conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950’” is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of Adding a design perspective

Aura Newsletter, 2020

The term 'art' is problematic due to its lack of precision as well as vestiges it carries from ea... more The term 'art' is problematic due to its lack of precision as well as vestiges it carries from earlier times. This article suggests replacing some of art's various meanings and sub-categories with a group of new terms. The related field of design is shown to contain vocabulary which could be useful in this regard. A system of coarse-grain classification of artefacts using the terms 'art', 'design', 'craft' and 'industry' is also suggested, using the terms in a four-way continuum rather than as completely separate categories.

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

Radiocarbon

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of “Before Present,” as well as “Before Physics,” and promoting Radiocarbon’s official definition of “BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely ‘conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950’” is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the " present " in the BP time scale ... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the " present " in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of " Before Present " , as well as " Before Physics " , and promoting Radiocarbon's official definition of " BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely 'conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950' " is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of Adding a Design Perspective

Some scholars have cited problems with the ways the term “art” has been used in Paleolithic art t... more Some scholars have cited problems with the ways the term “art” has been used in Paleolithic art theory and rock art research. In order to help reduce the confusion surrounding the term "art", this paper suggests adding terms from the field of design. Researchers would then have more options when classifying and describing artifacts. Additionally, because the design world is largely involved in creating things that are useful, terms from design don't carry the sort of historical ethnocentric prejudice against “function” and against cultures having different approaches to visual/spatial arts than Western Europe that the term “art” does. A four-category system of coarse-grain classification for artifacts is proposed.

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

Radiocarbon, Feb 1, 2017

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of “Before Present,” as well as “Before Physics,” and promoting Radiocarbon’s official definition of “BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely ‘conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950’” is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of Adding a design perspective

Aura Newsletter, 2020

The term 'art' is problematic due to its lack of precision as well as vestiges it carries from ea... more The term 'art' is problematic due to its lack of precision as well as vestiges it carries from earlier times. This article suggests replacing some of art's various meanings and sub-categories with a group of new terms. The related field of design is shown to contain vocabulary which could be useful in this regard. A system of coarse-grain classification of artefacts using the terms 'art', 'design', 'craft' and 'industry' is also suggested, using the terms in a four-way continuum rather than as completely separate categories.

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

Radiocarbon

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the “present” in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of “Before Present,” as well as “Before Physics,” and promoting Radiocarbon’s official definition of “BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely ‘conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950’” is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of BP: Time for a Change

This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the " present " in the BP time scale ... more This article proposes a solution to the problem of defining the " present " in the BP time scale as 1950. Discouraging the use of " Before Present " , as well as " Before Physics " , and promoting Radiocarbon's official definition of " BP is understood as a symbol meaning precisely 'conventional radiocarbon years before AD 1950' " is advised.

Research paper thumbnail of Adding a Design Perspective

Some scholars have cited problems with the ways the term “art” has been used in Paleolithic art t... more Some scholars have cited problems with the ways the term “art” has been used in Paleolithic art theory and rock art research. In order to help reduce the confusion surrounding the term "art", this paper suggests adding terms from the field of design. Researchers would then have more options when classifying and describing artifacts. Additionally, because the design world is largely involved in creating things that are useful, terms from design don't carry the sort of historical ethnocentric prejudice against “function” and against cultures having different approaches to visual/spatial arts than Western Europe that the term “art” does. A four-category system of coarse-grain classification for artifacts is proposed.

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