The Stimuli of Technological Inventions

Author(s): Abidemi Babalola

Year: 2023

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Essential Contributions from African to Global Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Technology transfer is a popular concept in the studies of pyro-technologies globally. This concept has been used uncritically in discourses on the origins and development of sophisticated technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. Instead of continuous patronage of this inherently derogatory concept in sub-Saharan African archaeology, this paper discusses three stimuli of technological inventions. Drawing examples from glass making in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, the paper argues that any society with these stimuli is capable of independently inventing novel technology without prior contact. Contact, it argues, is not automatically the driver for inventions.

Cite this Record

The Stimuli of Technological Inventions. Abidemi Babalola. Presented at The 88th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2023 ( tDAR id: 473277)

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Keywords

General
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis • Craft Production • Iron Age • Technological inventions

Geographic Keywords
Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa

Spatial Coverage

min long: -18.721; min lat: -35.174 ; max long: 61.699; max lat: 27.059 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37124.0