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A modular approach to understanding the transmission of technical knowledge: Nuaulu basket-making from Seram, eastern Indonesia

Ellen, Roy F. (2009) A modular approach to understanding the transmission of technical knowledge: Nuaulu basket-making from Seram, eastern Indonesia. Journal of Material Culture, 14 (2). pp. 243-277. ISSN 1359-1835. (doi:10.1177/1359183509103065) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:20138)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359183509103065

Abstract

This article identifies a problem relevant to studies of knowledge transmission, namely the simultaneous membership of some element to several cognitive domains. Knowledge loss in one domain may accelerate erosion in another or, alternatively, maintenance of knowledge in one domain may enable retention of knowledge in another. The more complex the domain, the more this overlap is likely to be significant. The basketry knowledge of the Nuaulu of eastern Indonesia is not a single domain and basket-making not a self-contained autonomous set of practices, but rather contingent upon several overlapping domains. Recognizing this provides a more realistic picture of how knowledge transmission works, both in terms of cognition and enskillment. The concept of 'basket' is ambiguous in Nuaulu thought and practice, generating overlapping categories of material culture: functional and morphological, scientific and local. Similarly, transmission must be understood in terms of overlapping knowledges of non-mutually exclusive domains.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/1359183509103065
Additional information: Conference Information: 4th International Congress of Ethnobotany Yeditepe Univ, Istanbul, Turkey, August, 2005
Uncontrolled keywords: basketry; cognitive domains; domain overlap; knowledge transmission
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Roy Ellen
Date Deposited: 27 Nov 2009 15:06 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/20138 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Ellen, Roy F..

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