Structure and Cognition in Art

The essays in this 1983 volume present an innovative and unified approach to the archaeological analysis and interpretation of art and design.

Dorothy K. Washburn (Author)

9780521180061, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 February 2011

178 pages
28 x 21 x 1 cm, 0.42 kg

The essays in this volume, which was originally published in 1983, present an innovative and unified approach to the archaeological analysis and interpretation of art and design. Together, they illustrate a variety of approaches to the discovery and systematic description of the underlying regularities in the organization of art forms. A group of ethnographic papers show how structural consistencies both relate to and reflect other aspects of the cultural system, while archaeological case studies suggest potential uses of this concept for archaeological material. Thus, through the study of the structure of art, this volume adds to our understanding of the total cultural system. The case studies demonstrate how structural analysis can be particularly systematic for comparative synchronic and diachronic studies. Moreover, the contributors boldly advocate a cognitive basis for the structural regularities underlying art forms. They demonstrate that art is much more than decoration; it is a sophisticated communication system.

List of contributors
1. Towards a theory of structural style in art Dorothy K. Washburn
2. The structure of Tarascan pottery painting Margaret Ann Hardin
3. Recent Shapiro–Conibo ceramics and their implications for archaeological interpretation Donald W. Lathrap
4. Where two dimensions meet: the Kuba of Zaire Marie Jeanne Adams
5. Design structure and community organization in Quinua, Peru Dean E. Arnold
6. When the map is the territory: art in Maori culture F. Allan Hanson
7. From form to content in the structural study of aesthetic systems James C. Faris
8. Temporal shifts in the structure of traditional Southwestern textile design Kate P. Kent
9. Symmetry analysis of ceramic design: two tests of the method on Neolithic material from Greece and the Aegean Dorothy K. Washburn
Index.

Subject Areas: Archaeology [HD]