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Technology, Function, and Human Activity

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An Introduction to Archaeological Chemistry

Abstract

This chapter combines three major areas of investigation in archaeological chemistry – technology, function, and human activity. Technology refers to the means that humans use to obtain resources and modify the world around them. Function, related to technology, refers to how tools, equipment, and facilities were used by humans in the past. Human activity is a generic term for the study of the function and use of space. What did humans do in the places they lived, gathered food, and worked? What was the function of the spaces that humans utilized in the past? These three related areas of investigation are discussed individually in more detail in the following pages of this chapter.

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Correspondence to T. Douglas Price .

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Price, T.D., Burton, J.H. (2011). Technology, Function, and Human Activity. In: An Introduction to Archaeological Chemistry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6376-5_6

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