Journal ArticleDOI
Practical and prestige technologies: The evolution of material systems
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TLDR
The aggrandizer model of prestige technology as discussed by the authors is a useful means for analyzing both practical and prestige technologies, although the goals and constraints of each are very different, and prestige items emerged only under conditions of sustainable food surplus and included the most important innovations of the last 30,000 years.Abstract:
Design theory provides a useful means for analyzing both practical and prestige technologies, although the goals and constraints of each are very different. The aggrandizer model of prestige technology postulates that prestige items were essential elements in aggrandizer strategies and that prestige items emerged only under conditions of sustainable food surpluses and included the most important innovations of the last 30,000 years such as metal working, pottery, sophisticated art, and domesticated plants and animals. The aggrandizer model also accounts for the transformation of some prestige technologies into practical technologies.read more
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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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