Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1981

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Kennedy, William J.

Abstract

The term artifact denotes a framework for conceptualizing the physio-chemical modification of environmentally occurring raw materials by human, cultural processes. This thesis examines the categories of artifact analysis, and integrates these into a development sequence. This sequence represents the processes which pattern all artifacts. They can be summarized as occurring at four stages: (1) selection of raw materials; (2) construction techniques; (3) artifact use and function; (4) formation of the archaeological record. The result of this integration is a heuristic model that recognizes the unity and complexity of cultural materials, and provides a base for processual studies. A separate part of this thesis employs Strombus gigas shell artifacts from the prehistoric cultures of the Caribbean to indicate the utility of the artifact development sequence as a theoretical conceptualization.

Extent

134 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1981.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT14072

Format

pdf

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