Technology – Tradition and Innovation

Dieser Forschungsschwerpunkt zeichnet sich durch die Betrachtung materieller Kultur als Ergebnis von Herstellungs- und Nutzungsprozessen aus. Grundsätzlich wenden wir diesen Ansatz ohne zeitliche Begrenzung auf alle Bereiche menschlichen Verhaltens an, die einen archäologischen Niederschlag im Nord- und Ostseeraum gefunden haben.

Based on the observation that the way in which artefacts are produced and used within a community follows specific rules, which are transmitted from generation to generation, a dynamic technological approach makes it possible for us to distinguish different traditions, describe the relationship between them at any one time and follow their development over time. Our assertions become stronger when more technological strands are involved, i.e. technological observations of several fields of activity within a tradition. The analytical categories chaîne opératoire and schéma opératoire denote the reconstructed sequence of actions employed in making an artefact, as a combination of specific methods and techniques or as overall concepts. At the same time, we can draw conclusions about the intended purpose of these concepts. We investigate the whole process, from the choice of the raw material for an artefact to the disposal of the artefact after use, whereby our observations are routinely inspired and tested by practical experiments.

This Research Priority is assigned to the Strategic Research Area Man and Artefact. 

• Amber finds in Northern Europe from the Roman Iron Age till the Vendel Period
• Crafts apprenticeship and transmission of knowledge in Early Bronze Age flint working
• Defining the Ahrensburgian. Contributions from a technological study of reindeer antler artefacts
• Lithics Analysis Laboratory
• Long Blades as markers of long-distance connections?
• Technological transformations in the Lateglacial– Hunter-gatherers in a changing environment