Known and Unknown Stone: Papuan Petrology and Reciprocity

Sillitoe, Paul

Abstract

What is knowable about stone tool users’ knowledge? The people of the New Guinea Highlands were among the last to use stone implements routinely in their daily lives. These comprised both lithic flake tools and polished stone axes. Their classification of these objects challenges our notion of taxonomic knowledge, which involves agreement over defined classes, whereas they evidence considerable disagreement with unclear categories. It is necessary to situate stone within the egalitarian acephalous cultures where reciprocity features centrally to appreciate the ontological status of stone.

Citation

Sillitoe, P. (2024). Known and Unknown Stone: Papuan Petrology and Reciprocity. Archaeologies, 20(1), 214-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-024-09496-7

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 9, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 7, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Journal: Archaeologies
• Print ISSN: 1555-8622
• Electronic ISSN: 1935-3987
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 214-238
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-024-09496-7
• Keywords: New Guinea stone implements
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2150066