Metaphor and material culture.

Metaphor and material culture. CHRISTOPHER TILLEY Christopher Y. Tilley is a British archaeologist and a well-known proponent of post-processual archaeology.Tilley's major works on theoretical archaeology were written with his colleague Michael Shanks, and include ReConstructing Archaeology and . Metaphor and material culture. xvi+298 pages,16 plates, 47 figures. 1999. Oxford: Blackwell; 0-631-19202-6 hardback55 [pounds sterling] & $59.95; 0-631-19203-4 paperback 16.99 [poundssterling] & $29.95. RENFREW & SCARRE assess certain implications of theproposition, put 40 years ago by L.A. White, that culture is Man's`extrasomatic mechanism' of adaptation. White unacknowledged,however, it was M. Donald's version of the principle (1991) thatprompted the learned and stimulating deliberations published here aboutthe evolutionary role of material icons and spatial conventions. Prof.RENFREW opens with the suggestion that symbolic use of materialsfollowed development of language and was followed, in turn, by theemergence of theory, in towns. Donald restates the notion ofextrasomatic symbolic technique. S. Mithen speculates on the origin ofreligion (well, why not?). There are papers: on archaeological andethnographic evidence for knowledge of space; on significance of play(here -- as occasionally elsewhere in the literature -- is reference toPiaget but only once elsewhere in this book); on using symbols for thearticulation of concepts and reason; and on `memes' (bits ofculture a la Dawkins). A la Marshack, F. D'Errico reviews evidencefor Palaeolithic `AMS' (er -- artificial memory systems). T. Dowsoncalls for criticism of assumptions in the study of rock art; D. Halleappraises art in New York City New York City:see New York, city. New York CityCity (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. homes. Not for the first time, writing,in particular, is blamed as an especially divisive form of `symbolicstorage': Dr SHLAIN argues that, as an operation of the left sideof the brain, use of the alphabet favours men over women (cf. MALIK in`History of ideas The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history. ...', below). He considers that Chinese ideogramshave encouraged more holistic thought; but he senses that, in the West,mass diffusion of images is now restoring some balance. Presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , on reading that symbolism `is fundamentally ...social' (RENFREW & SCARRE p. xi), Prof. SCHIFFER would ask `Sowhat?'. For he claims that the archaeological study of materialculture as such is a model for anthropology in general. Never mindlanguage or rules, he cries, `people-artifact interactions are the mostdistinctive and important feature of human life' (p. 119). On thebasis of an admirably systematic and comprehensive analysis of factorsin communication, he urges that people operate on the strength ofinformation from each other and every other element in the environment.He proposes an analytic terminology as ugly as his behaviourism behaviourismHighly influential academic school of psychology that dominated psychological theory in the U.S. between World War I and World War II. Classical behaviourism concerned itself exclusively with the objective evidence of behaviour (measured responses to stimuli) . It is,indeed, an archaeologist's analysis. In RENFREW & SCARRE, Prof.SCHIFFER would surely approve of J. Rawson's analysis of ancientChinese List of ancient Chinese is a list of noteworthy people of ancient China. Different definitions of "ancient" China exist, but most agree that it is before the Tang dynasty. Related listsA general listing of existing lists related to this topic. bronzes, J. Thomas' of `settings' (sensu environmentalpsychology) in Neolithic Britain, or M. Strathern's of those forgifts (prestation) in New Guinea, and R. Hinde's thoughts oneffective environments (again, cf. Ingold's principle, ed. DOBRES& HOFFMAN). SCHIFFER's impeccable logic has the merit ofirritating unsympathetic readers into asking themselves why they are soconcerned about symbols! Prof. TILLEY, for one, has worked that out. He cites a splendidrange of theoretical sources and secondary ethnographic andarchaeological evidence in support of the proposition that peopleachieve coherence by interpreting their worlds through metaphoricassociations. The idea is not new but it is nice to see it worked outspecially for `solid' material culture -- and with enough respectfor real life to warn that the theory does not always hold good. It isinteresting alongside R. Hinde's remarks (RENFREW & SCARRE).Again, of course, here is a phenomenological project. Archaeologistswill especially enjoy Prof. TILLEY's example of Swedish rock art,his analysis of monuments along the Dorset Ridgeway A ridgeway is a road or path that follows the highest part of the landscape. Roads and pathwaysOne of the best known ridgeways is the Ridgeway National Trail, also known as The Ridgeway Path (cf. ASHMORE &KNAPP in `Archaeology of ideas', below), and perhaps the wittylittle essay on a Melanesian heritage park.