Transmission of Italian Architectural Knowledge through Agricultural Practice

Summary

In the past two decades there has been increasing archaeological research which explicitly investigates how cultural elements may be learned by individuals in new generations. This paper, a revision of a presentation at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, explores an example of such cultural transmission in central and southern Italy: the passing on of architectural knowledge through agricultural practice. It documents from archaeological finds and historical references wattle and daub buildings in the region dating from the Neolithic sixth millennium BC to modern times. The study then focuses on how this architectural tradition continued over such an immense length of time by investigating how individuals may have learned the building techniques. Observations reveal several constructional components with multiple utility in agriculture and related rural activities. By interweaving evidence from a broad array of disciplines, including art and architectural history, classical and historical literature, and ethnography, the paper shows that teaching individuals about farming practices would have passed on, maintained, and honed skills needed to construct the earthen buildings.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

File Information