Does Practice Make Perfect? Craft Expertise as a Factor in Aggrandizer Strategies
Olausson, Deborah LU
(2008)
In Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
15.
p.28-50
- Abstract
- The focus of this article is on exploring craft expertise and its potential as a factor in aggrandizer strategies. It is argued that there are elements of natural aptitude which enabled certain individuals to excel at flintknapping, allowing them to create objects of exceptional size and beauty in acts of elaborate knapping. Practice alone will enable an individual to reach a certain level of proficiency, but only practice in combination with ability can result in world-class performance. If, as is argued, native ability in some domain is a rare commodity, then harnessing it and developing it through practice would provide an opportunity for a potential aggrandizer to control prestige goods and accrue social capital. In situations where... (More)
- The focus of this article is on exploring craft expertise and its potential as a factor in aggrandizer strategies. It is argued that there are elements of natural aptitude which enabled certain individuals to excel at flintknapping, allowing them to create objects of exceptional size and beauty in acts of elaborate knapping. Practice alone will enable an individual to reach a certain level of proficiency, but only practice in combination with ability can result in world-class performance. If, as is argued, native ability in some domain is a rare commodity, then harnessing it and developing it through practice would provide an opportunity for a potential aggrandizer to control prestige goods and accrue social capital. In situations where raw material, knowledge, and know-how are ubiquitous, as may have been true for flint technology in southern Scandinavia during the Late Neolithic, this might be one of few means available for a would-be aggrandizer to control prestigious goods. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1054627
- author
- Olausson, Deborah
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2008
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- inherited abilities, practice, Late Neolithic flint daggers, Flintknappers
- in
- Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
- volume
- 15
- pages
- 28 - 50
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000256904100002
- scopus:40249106456
- ISSN
- 1573-7764
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10816-007-9049-x
- project
- Handmade. Crafting and social strategies in the Scandinavian Neolithic
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ecbbd076-06ae-437e-8f01-24a56e37558a (old id 1054627)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:16:39
- date last changed
- 2022-03-21 17:39:30
@article{ecbbd076-06ae-437e-8f01-24a56e37558a,
abstract = {{The focus of this article is on exploring craft expertise and its potential as a factor in aggrandizer strategies. It is argued that there are elements of natural aptitude which enabled certain individuals to excel at flintknapping, allowing them to create objects of exceptional size and beauty in acts of elaborate knapping. Practice alone will enable an individual to reach a certain level of proficiency, but only practice in combination with ability can result in world-class performance. If, as is argued, native ability in some domain is a rare commodity, then harnessing it and developing it through practice would provide an opportunity for a potential aggrandizer to control prestige goods and accrue social capital. In situations where raw material, knowledge, and know-how are ubiquitous, as may have been true for flint technology in southern Scandinavia during the Late Neolithic, this might be one of few means available for a would-be aggrandizer to control prestigious goods.}},
author = {{Olausson, Deborah}},
issn = {{1573-7764}},
keywords = {{inherited abilities; practice; Late Neolithic flint daggers; Flintknappers}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{28--50}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory}},
title = {{Does Practice Make Perfect? Craft Expertise as a Factor in Aggrandizer Strategies}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-007-9049-x}},
doi = {{10.1007/s10816-007-9049-x}},
volume = {{15}},
year = {{2008}},
}