Motor Skills and the Learning Process: The Conservation of Cordage Final Twist Direction in Communities of Practice

Minar, C. Jill

doi:10.1086/jar.57.4.3631352

Cited by 53 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…While there are only two choices of twist direction at initial twisting or ply twisting, twist direction has been the subject of much debate and study by archaeologists trying to understand the archaeological record. Twist direction has been studied from the point of view of skill or knowledge acquisition, namely learning frameworks (Minar 2001;Crown 2001;Wallaert-Petre 2001). Twist direction has also been investigated as a possible method of tracking movements of peoples across landscapes by use of final twist percentages in cordage or cordagemarked pottery (Minar 2000;Peterson and Wolford 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There seems to be a consistency of twist direction used by individuals within a residency area-namely that people are taught to spin in a particular twist direction for a singles yarn and then ply with the opposite direction to keep the yarn from unraveling that overrides the tendency of a fiber to rotate in a particular direction (Bird 1956;Adovasio and Maslowski 1980;Kent 1983;Minar 2000;Petersen and Wolford 2000). While Minar (2001) illustrates in the Southeastern United States that there maybe separation of groups both temporally and geographically by final twist direction, she cautions that this can only "... potentially define a specific community of practice" (397).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fibers, dyes, pre-and post-treatments, yarn formation, and fabric construction processes can be determined from physical and chemical examination ofthe textile product (Emery 1966;Sibley et al 1991;Drooker 1992;Kuttruff 1993;Sibley et al 1996;Song et al 1996;Spanos et al 2007; Thompson and Simon 2008;Jakes et al 2009). Information gleaned from textiles has been used to understand cultural concepts such as status (Cassman 2000;Kuttruff 1993;Schreffier 1988), boundaries between cultural groups (Church 1984;Petersen and Wolford 2000), socio-technical change (Hyland and Adovasio 2000) and specific cultural activities, which include labor expenditure, craft specialization, dissemination of textile skills, and burial practices (Sibley 1986;Schreffier 1988;Sibley et al 1991;Minar 2001; Thompson and Jakes 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Moundville: Forgotten Textile Fragments Reveal the Past

Wimberley

Thompson

2010

TEXTILE

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T he multi-mound site of Moundville in west central Alabama provided the samples, dated to Moundville II (AD 1250-1400) and III (AD 1400-1550) phases. Mound W, Mound R and the Rhodes site within the palisaded area provided textile remains. Textile fragments from Mound W and R are charred and small in size. The Rhodes site provided a copper breastplate with textile pseudomorphs. The fragments provide a wealth of information about technology, their social significance and use, and aspects of ritual and cultural values through dispersal. Methodology included nondestructive physical analysis of samples, light microscopy, and environmental scanning electron microscopy. Chemical analysis spectra were collected using X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. It was evident that the fibers from the charred samples were of two types of plant tissue, xylem and sclerenchyma. Fiber type was not determinable for the Rhodes specimen. Even though the yarn and fabric structures were comparable between the specimens collected from domestic areas and the elite burial, the fineness of the yarns that were associated with the breastplate as a prestige good indicate a refining process used for the fibers. As indicated by the specimens available, there were boundaries between residential and apparently moderate elite burials at Moundville.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Moundville: Forgotten Textile Fragments Reveal the Past

Wimberley

Thompson

2010

TEXTILE

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“…These construction attributes, especially final twist direction, reflect communities of practice and can be strong indicators of cultural similarity and difference. Patterned spatial distributions and changes in the frequencies of final twist direction parametersas well as other construction attributes-can thus be tied to changes in the population in many cases (Carr and Maslowski 1995;Haas 2006;McBrinn and Smith 2006;Minar 2001).…”

Section: Analysis Of Fibre Perishables: Cordagementioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Analyses of Fibre Perishables from Promontory Caves, UT

Goldberg

2018

SAJA

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Recent analyses of the Promontory Caves assemblages by Ives and colleagues (Billinger and Ives 2015; Hallson 2017; Ives 2014; Ives et al. 2014; Reilly 2015) have renewed interest in Julian Steward’s (1937) hypothesis that the thirteenth century inhabitants of the Promontory Caves have ties to Northern Dene language-speakers, thus shedding new light on Dene migration and Apachean origins. These studies have largely focused on the similarities between Northern Dene and Promontory moccasins, but other artifact classes—namely fibre perishables—have yet to be examined. This paper synthesizes conclusions drawn from the author’s prior research into matting and cordage recovered from the Promontory Caves in comparison to a neighboring Fremont cordage assemblage from the site of Lakeside Cave, with some suggestive differences emerging from material, structure, and knot types. These preliminary results suggest avenues for future comparative analyses of the Promontory perishable artifacts.

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“…Of course, as Gosselain (2000:190) states, the transmission of ideas is not the same for all the stages of pottery production. Some stages are arguably more easily affected by subtle changes, such as the mimicking of decoration or clay selection, while other production stages such as paste creation and vessel forming require a much more substantial influence to alter technique (Gosselain 2000:191-192;Lyons and Clark 2012:24-25;Minar 2001;van der Leeuw 1984van der Leeuw , 1993.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%