Katherine I. (Karen) Wright | University College London (original) (raw)
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University of the Basque Country, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
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Papers by Katherine I. (Karen) Wright
Questions about the early Near Eastern Neolithic include whether domestic groups were autonomous ... more Questions about the early Near Eastern Neolithic include whether domestic groups were autonomous and self-sufficient; whether they had access to similar goods; whether households were competitive; whether specialization existed; and how domestic units articulated with corporate groups. Feasting models emphasize household competition and complexity, but wide-ranging ethnographic studies show that hoe-farming societies in areas of land abundance are usually egalitarian, with little material wealth, little inequality, and little wealth transmission (inheritance). This paper explores inequality at Çatalhöyük East (Turkey), via ground stone artefacts, which were central to food preparation and craft production. Analysis of 2429 artefacts from 20 buildings and 9 outdoor yards reveals a mix of egalitarian features and emerging social complexity. Households had private property and relatively equal access to cooking features and some ground stone tools, but ground stone toolkits do not indicate self-sufficiency. In particular, large millstones (querns) were expensive to procure and were possibly shared between households. Most were deliberately destroyed, suggesting taboos on transmission (inheritance). Lorenz curves for features and ground stone artefacts suggest that storage units, unbroken querns and unfinished quern roughouts were the most unequally distributed food preparation facilities. There are indications of subsistence intensification, craft specialization, and emerging factional competition.
. Trapezoidal axes/celt, showing manufacturing traces* indicating chaines operatoires. Diabase/me... more . Trapezoidal axes/celt, showing manufacturing traces* indicating chaines operatoires. Diabase/metabasalt/dolerite only, with 2 colour variants. Use wear traces** shown for bit Traces are shown in stratigraphic order of their occurrence on the artefact from earliest (left) to latest (right). Unbroken artefacts only.
bone beads follow a similar layout and focus on data and sampling, followed by preliminary observ... more bone beads follow a similar layout and focus on data and sampling, followed by preliminary observations regarding methods of manufacture and, finally, by a discussion of production, use and discard contexts.
What social groups were involved in Neolithic craft production? What was the nature of early form... more What social groups were involved in Neolithic craft production? What was the nature of early forms of craft specialization, long before urban economies evolved? One way to look at this is to investigate manufacture of Neolithic prestige goods. Seasonal camps in Wadi Jilat (eastern Jordan) revealed unusually detailed evidence for manufacture of stone beads: debris, blanks, finished beads, and tools for drilling, sawing and abrasion. The material is 'Dabba Marble', a metamorphic rock of which the major source is nearby. This article describes lapidary technology at Jilat 13 and Jilat 25, equivalent in age to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC). Mineral-chemical characterization data on Dabba Marble are presented. These sites raise issues about early craft specialization. These beadmakers seem to have been master craftsmen/women. We suggest that these sites illustrate a particular form of 'site specialization', namely sites located in remote territories and focused on special materials and intensive production of prestige goods. However, these craft activities were also embedded in hunting, herding and, perhaps, ritual, as suggested by figurines and pillars.
Questions about the early Near Eastern Neolithic include whether domestic groups were autonomous ... more Questions about the early Near Eastern Neolithic include whether domestic groups were autonomous and self-sufficient; whether they had access to similar goods; whether households were competitive; whether specialization existed; and how domestic units articulated with corporate groups. Feasting models emphasize household competition and complexity, but wide-ranging ethnographic studies show that hoe-farming societies in areas of land abundance are usually egalitarian, with little material wealth, little inequality, and little wealth transmission (inheritance). This paper explores inequality at Çatalhöyük East (Turkey), via ground stone artefacts, which were central to food preparation and craft production. Analysis of 2429 artefacts from 20 buildings and 9 outdoor yards reveals a mix of egalitarian features and emerging social complexity. Households had private property and relatively equal access to cooking features and some ground stone tools, but ground stone toolkits do not indicate self-sufficiency. In particular, large millstones (querns) were expensive to procure and were possibly shared between households. Most were deliberately destroyed, suggesting taboos on transmission (inheritance). Lorenz curves for features and ground stone artefacts suggest that storage units, unbroken querns and unfinished quern roughouts were the most unequally distributed food preparation facilities. There are indications of subsistence intensification, craft specialization, and emerging factional competition.
. Trapezoidal axes/celt, showing manufacturing traces* indicating chaines operatoires. Diabase/me... more . Trapezoidal axes/celt, showing manufacturing traces* indicating chaines operatoires. Diabase/metabasalt/dolerite only, with 2 colour variants. Use wear traces** shown for bit Traces are shown in stratigraphic order of their occurrence on the artefact from earliest (left) to latest (right). Unbroken artefacts only.
bone beads follow a similar layout and focus on data and sampling, followed by preliminary observ... more bone beads follow a similar layout and focus on data and sampling, followed by preliminary observations regarding methods of manufacture and, finally, by a discussion of production, use and discard contexts.
What social groups were involved in Neolithic craft production? What was the nature of early form... more What social groups were involved in Neolithic craft production? What was the nature of early forms of craft specialization, long before urban economies evolved? One way to look at this is to investigate manufacture of Neolithic prestige goods. Seasonal camps in Wadi Jilat (eastern Jordan) revealed unusually detailed evidence for manufacture of stone beads: debris, blanks, finished beads, and tools for drilling, sawing and abrasion. The material is 'Dabba Marble', a metamorphic rock of which the major source is nearby. This article describes lapidary technology at Jilat 13 and Jilat 25, equivalent in age to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC). Mineral-chemical characterization data on Dabba Marble are presented. These sites raise issues about early craft specialization. These beadmakers seem to have been master craftsmen/women. We suggest that these sites illustrate a particular form of 'site specialization', namely sites located in remote territories and focused on special materials and intensive production of prestige goods. However, these craft activities were also embedded in hunting, herding and, perhaps, ritual, as suggested by figurines and pillars.
This chapter reviews theoretical, ethnographic and experinental research on plant food processing... more This chapter reviews theoretical, ethnographic and experinental research on plant food processing in hunter_getherer, farling and pastoralist econonies. Ethnographic sources are restricted to semiarid and arid regions. Alternative nodels are presented for expected frequencies and distributions of ground stone in different subsistence systens, in light of ihe ways ground stone will enter the archaeological record.
