Craft specialization as an agent of social power in the south Scandinavian Neolithic

Författare

Deborah Olausson

Redaktör

Romuald Schild
Zofia Sulgotowska

Summary, in English

The ability to identify craft specialization in the archaeological record has wider ramifications for the study of prehistoric society, since it is apparent that there is a certain relationship between the organization of craft specialization and social complexity. It is fruitful to distinguish among 3 categories here: household production on the one hand, and attached and independent craft specialists on the other. We should expect a lack of craft specialization in egalitarian societies, attached specialist production of hypertrophic (i.e., not practically useful) goods in ranked societies, and independent specialist production of labor-cheap (mainly utilitarian) goods in state-level societies. The paper presents the author’s attempts to explore craft specialization in the Swedish Neolithic. Artifact types which are studied include flint axes and flint daggers as well as several groundstone artifact types. Studies of the ease and speed of manufacture, possible manufacturing loci, and standardization are among the means used to identify possible specialization in the Swedish Neolithic.

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