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Au. v thrpl 199221491-516h b w h

SOCIAL ANTHROOLOGY OF

TECHNOLOGY

Ban Pfaenberger

Division o Humnies, Schoo o Engineering nd Applied Scence, Unerity ofVirginia Choee, Virginia 22901

KYWORDS: m a m u

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a h y h jc "ha qu u ah Rarchrwr tr a "aa ar cr a ca raa ac h r a b ccra h ucri chq a arac a h cy uy aracwhu rar r h c cuura cx. I ai hw i hchar h arica uy chy ara cuur

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ca cura cx Maiwki r c cd urychca ha arial cur h a a a"ra ha h y chy a ccay (646. Th y chy a ara cur a c ha

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49 PFERGER

wa and i ti pereived a dy even inteetuay ad and bong" 9

wa reeaed o ueu whereu o ona wih deveopmen in oia

anopoogy and depived o enoraph epeienemueu hoaacked he resorces o adace he ed. or hei , cra aooo-

giss aged ha sdyig echiqes ad iacs cod oy deec ahro-poogi om thei poper oethat i om tdying uture Kroeber &Kuckhohn or eampe, dimied the e material culture ou o handarging ha ha i uure i he ide behind the aiac" 55 :65. Acord-ingy," Kroeber argued, e may orge abou his disicio beee mae-

ia ad omaeria cuure, exce a a iera dierece, ha is someimes o

patia onveniene to obeve" 496 or anropoogy jettioning ma-ea uure sudie wa a neeay ep in etabihng he ieniic bai,

te ineecua apea, and the disicie ubjec aer o he diipine.erodic atemp have been made o revive he seousy lpaien e.g. 2,

34, 49 ,5 9 ,65 ,66 ,8, and88, ih heir pace quickeing in he 1980 43, 44,

6,6 3, 7, 73, 8 4, 9, 96. Yet, guaby no rea reuiation ha taken paeowig gey o he conined iocance wih hich AngoAmerican a

opoogi regard the sudy o maeria cure and echnoogy. a recenreaement o he roeber Kuohn view, Bouque (13:352) condenshe recen bids o reinae he maeiaiy' o maeia uure," a i uch

bid temmed om ome hiitine onpiay againt whih he preer

rcogniio o he hegemoy o ingisic aroache o he obec ord"Noing ha he excesses o ery maeiacure choars were righy io-

ried, S iioe amen ha the mud seem o have sck more o ariac adeir udy than o he [evoioni'] widgue theoe," which have

temeve enjoyed a mode omebak 9 p 6 A it and a topi with

which anhopoogy wa oce coey ideiiedhe crosscura sdy o

tenoogy and maeia uureha been argey aken up by hoa work

ing i oher ied sch a he hisory o echooy and he ierdiscipinary

ed o a sciece ad echoogy sde STS or by anropoogiih mrgina appointmen in muem or in he genera udie diviion oengineering and echnica coege

Desie he erhera sas o te aropoogy o echoogy and mae-ria cure, comeing quesios rema: ha is echnoogy? Is ecoogy ahma niersa? ha is he reaosh beee ecoogica deeomeand uura evouion? Are there ommon theme in he appopaion o

ariat tha bdge apitai and preapiait oietie? How do peope em-

oy iacs o acompish socia uoes in he course o eveyday ie

ha knd o cuura meaning i embodied in ecnooica ariac? Howdoes cre iece echoogca ioaoad ho doe echoogica

innovaon inuence cuture?Thee quesion are ar rom iviaand arguaby, ony anhroooy can

aer hem No oher disciie oers scie comaraie deh or aro-riae mehodoogies The chaege si reman, a aioski hmse u

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SOCIAL ANTOPOLOGY O TECHNOLOGY 493

, o udersad he role of ehology as "a idispesable meas of ap-proah o eoomi ad soiologial aiviies ad o wha migh be alledaive siee (69460) Ad he hallege is eve greaer ow ha sholarsgeerally oede ha laguage ool use and soial behavior evolved i aroess of omlex muual ieraio ad feedbak Sumig u he ose-sus of a oferee led "Tools, Laguage, ad elligee Evoluioymliaios Gibso oludes ha "We eed o kow more abou he waysi whih spekig, oolusig, and soialiy are ierwove io he exure ofeveryday life i oemporary huma groups (29263)

I is haer I argue ha soial anropology has aready disovered agrea deal abou humn enologial aiviyseilly whe aoologi-al digs ae iepreed i he oex of ree, suig advaes i he

soiology of sieifi owledge 1 1 he hisory and siology of ehol-ogy, ad he emerge eld know as iee and enology sudies STS.Colleively hese elds wihou muh aoologial ivolveme, havedeveloed a oep, he thnl tm oep (48), ha refuses odey he l of huma enologil aiviy Develoed maly i soiald hisorial sudies of idusrial siees he soioehial sysem oep seek o show, seves uifully o iegrae ahropologial digs abouidusrial soieies io a ohere iure of he uiversals of humaehology ad maeal ulure The eral objeive of his review, he, is

o ovey he socioenial sysem oe o n nhroologial audieead o show how i resolves key ooversies wihi aropology heresuls should prove of ieres o ahropologiss workg i elds as diverseas ulural eology ual symboli aoology ehoarhaeology arae-ology and human evoluio sudies

Oe reaso for he raid advne of STS is is refusal o ae he myhs ofsiee and ehology a fae value Mulkay 74), for example, shows hasoiologys resal o develop a soiologial aalysis of siei kowledgesems om soiologiss' urial aepae of a my Sadard View ofsiee. I sugges ha he ahieveme of a ruly cl anropology ofehology lkewise requres exedig aropology's ree produive ve-ure io reexiviy 8 70)seifilly by mkig he myhi SadrdView of eology explii, ad resoluely quesioig is implaios Forhis reaso, his essay begis wih he Sandard View of eology, adalhough is purpose is o prese he soioenial sysem oep and ex-lore is imliaios for aroology is orgaied as a seres of aaks ohe impliaios of he Sadrd View

THE ANDARD VIEW OF TECHNOLOGY

ike he Sadrd View of siee (74 1921), he Sadard View of ehol-ogy udeles u solaly as well as popul hikig A maser aaiveof moder ulure, he Sadard View of ehology ould be elied, more or

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494 PFERGER

le itat, o a udergraduate la Oaioall, i i ade epliit iatropologial writig eg 39. B uggetig tat u a Stadard iewet J do ot ea to p at eer olar wo a advaed oe part

o i ecerl edore te ret wa ollow, delbertel ue emule ru t d r umkd; d terwe wuld r eStadard View o it geder ideolog

Necessiy is he moher of invenion. As Man has been faced wih severe survval challenges, ceran exordina ndivduals have seen oen in abrllian ash of nspiion, how o address he chalenge of Need by applynghe fce, peale ad adace o Nate he facao of lad maeal aac e pwe f ae hee, wa o e eed, ohe exen ha he nveno can clea away he cobweb f cle o see he wold

om a purely ularia sandpon In hs we ee Man' hr fo Pes.Fm fw c. To e e, Ma dece o ad arac,

aac are dped o e ee a e fm w a cea d areap e aac ede fc-a ay a eneed ha was he son de of he arac ceaon. Thus a soceysmaerial culure becomes a physical record of is chacerisc survival adapaon; maea cuue e pma means by wc cey eec epodcn e meanng of hman aac a ace mae f syle f sacebuish or minor mbolizaon.

By vewng he maeal record f Mans echnolocal achevemens, one can

direcly perceive he challenges Ma faced n he pas, and how he me hesehallee. Th ecd w a lea pe ve tme beae eholy cmave Eac ew level f pee ae ece don he prevo ne prdcn eve mre pwel nvenn he dggg ckhad o precede he plough oe nenons ha sncanly ncreae Manseac bng abo revoon canges n scal oranaon ad subsenceccody, e ae f Ma ca e epeed em f ecoca ae,ch a he Soe ge he ge he Brone ge and o on O age heoma ge rugh on by he nvenn f e compe Ovel e

movemen s m ve smple ols o ve comple machines I was also amovemen rm pmve ensormor ss (echnques) gy eaboeem f objecve, lnscally ecded wledge a Naue and poenial echnology.

Now we live n a maeral world. he resul of he exploson of ecnologicalknowledge has been a massve expanson of Mans reach, bu wih lamenablead uvodale ocal, evonmenal and cull cnequeces: We lve n afacaed evme medaed y che echoy wa mo ahecwhe we ed ool, ecae we cld cl hem. Mache cn,conrl us hs ne can den a Grea Divde or Rpure when Man los his

ahency a cuul ceaure, s Fausan dep a a beng vng n a wodf c mea, ad ave me ove o a wod ed by meam

ad pecaly Th Rpe w he da evo, whc achedhe Age f he Machne he prmcy ofucn ver aehec p hughce we ceay ve a hme wd ofcoy dve deceece ce a become a aec e wc eed eof echnology predominae We can dene ourseves only y prchasig plasic

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SOCIAL ANTHROPOOGY OF TECHNOLOGY 495

z T b b k

The Standad Vew of technology appea to be a plla of Modem aultural, literary, and artt perod noted for t extreme ambvalence towardtehnoloy. Aordin to mot chol e. 4) Modernm reached t apebetween the two Wod War. In eene Modem epreent a tule tond a table ound of ben whn te pome and pel of ence andtechnoloca development Lke Sva n Hindu onogaphy, technology een through the Modeit len a both creator and detroyer, an agent both offuture prome and of culture deuton Ehoed perfectly n the StandardView of technology, Modeim amount to

eta u te futurt a e ihlit te reltary a

e eratie, e at ad e laial. It a the elet aehnlia ae d a ndeati i; a eited aee e eefthat the old regimes culture were ove, and a dep desparing in the face thate(15:46).

Modeim an almo unavodable reone, a radbury McFalane putt, to the enao of our chao 527. Accrdingly, any attept to grapthe role of huma technologia ativity mut begn by ueionng the Stand-ard View aumption which could if left unexamined, olor anthropoloi-

cal thouht

"ECESST IS THE MOTHER OF IVETIO

The Standard Vew put forth a commonene vew of technology and materal ulture that acord perfectly with our eveyday undertandng. All aroundu are artifat oriinally developed to fll a pecific needjier wordproceor vacuu cleaner and telephone and apart from arifact that are

deoratve or ymbol, the mot ueful atfactthe one that ncreae ourtne or efieny n dealing with everyday lifeare aociated eah wth apefc Mater Funton, given by the pyical or tehnologc properte ofthe obect telf. Extendng th ommonene vew one uickly arrve at atheory of tehnologial evolution parodied by 4:6 People need water, othey dig wel, dam rver and tream, and deelop hydrauli tehnology.hey need helter and defene, o they uild houe, fot, citie, ad militaymahne They need to move though the envronment with eae o theynvent hp, charot, chart aae biyle automoble, arpane and

paecraft.e New Arhaeoloy whh ouht to put arhaeoloy on a rm mode-

it foong, put forward a view of tehnoloy and atifat rmly n aordwith the Standard Vew and it preumption of needdriven tehnoloicalevoluton ulture, acordng to Bnford 7) an extraomat mean ofadaptation thu tehnology and material ulture form e primary mean by

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496 FFFEERGER

which peope estabish their viability, given the constraints imposed upo

em by heir eioet ad he demads of socia teatio. foows asBifod agued 95 ) that eey atifact has two dimesons he pri

mr refeng to the instrumenta dimension reated to the artifact's function

and the secondary reated to te artiacts socia meaning and symboism.Ecoi this view Dunne maes expicit the connecion that is assumedbetween an artifacts nction and group surviva: The artiacts nction isthat which "directy enhances the Darwinian tness of te popuations inwhich the occur (23199). Ste i conrast is someting added on tesurface a buish or decoration that might pay some usefu roe in symboizig oup soidarity but is decidedy secondary In the Modeist view thereare uniersa human needs and for each of these here is an idea artifact. For

te pimtie tecoogist discoverig such an artifact is ke discoveringAmeca t was there beore the exporers na ound it-and to the extettat anone bothers to ook it wi be ound and ievitab adopted (atougit might be resisted for a time) The tae of Mans ise hen is the sto ofincreasing technoogica prowess as digging sticks deveop into poughs

drms into teephones cars into cars.e tanar Vew o tecnoo oers a seemn ard or tough

minded view o artiacts and tecnooica evoution but tere is ampeevidence hat its "hardness dssoes when examned criticay What seems

to us a inconrovertibe eed or which there is an idea riact may we begeneated by our own cutures xatios. Basaa (7 1 1) demonsates thispon oclly wh spc o h whl Fs use o cmona ppossin te Near East the wee took on miitr appicatios beore na ndig

aspor appcatios Mesoamerica he whee was never adopted for ransport funcions gien the constraints of terrain ad he ack of draught animase i the ea ast where the whee was rst ieted it was aduaygvn up n avo o camls Basalla commets "A bias or h wee edWeste scoars to underrate te utity o pack aimas and overestimate te

contribution made b wheeed vehices in he years beore the came repacedte whee ( 1). Against a Modeist bias Basaas viw echs thendings o recent soia antropoogist who have argued tat it is impossibeto identif a cass of authentic atiacts that direct and ratona addess"rea needs (2 2272; 8 7). Cuture not ature denes necessity. One coudreassert that a "hard or "toughmded approach requies the recognitionafter a hat peope must eat and so on but it is abudany evidet that ahuge ariety o techniques and artiacts can be chosen to accompish any give

utiitarian objective(9 1)

The supposed nctions o atiacts then do not provide a cear portait o auan cutures needs 38 ) and what is more one ca0t uambiuousyinfer om hem precise which chaenges a human popuation has faced. Thenaies o ci Tiea de Fuego after a were contet to do wihout cothig ccordgy some archaeoogiss and socia anthopoogists woud break

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SOCAL ATHROPOLOGY OF TECHOLOGY 97

ric wih he Snr iew in ssein h meri cuure es npy ecisive re in shpin humn rups pin is envirnmenGsn 32) nes h bsic sne survives inc ruh revuinary chnes in subsisence in bh he cssic O Wr sies an in eNew Guine hihs. A survey f he New Guine s Gsn cncuesrevee nne h is inispensbe n fm m he simpes he mscpe f Hihns icuur prcice ecep he sne axe r ze anhe iin sc which e n n cmmn bu s servicebe nher hn ricuur cnexs 2:161). Summrizn he evience msci nhrpy Shins 86:81) pus s pin we Fr he reer prf humn hs br hs been mre sinicn n s he ineieneffs f he puce me inicn n his simpe euipmen Shins

view is eche b Lemnnier 62:151) wh nes h he serch fr crrespnences beween echnic eve an se f ecnmc rizin esn seem ie e he f he rein beween echnic ssemsan sciey her hn ne s versimpie n ener h i uic ses ineres Meri cuure ne prvies ny shwy picre f humanpins

If echniues n ifcs e n he inchpns hun pin s iss fen surmise hen ric reeiniins re in rer. is n mere echn bu echny in cnce wih he sci crinin f br h

cnsiues humn ppuins pin is envirnmen. I ms preinusri scieies echny pys secn e he humn cpciy inven n ep fbuus cmpe vibe sci nemens. Hwhen shu we ene echy? Spier 932) r insnce efines echny s he meas by which man sees miy r cnr his nurenvirnmen This eniin is ceary unsisfcry I ssumes pririh Mans ieren im is mnn r cnr f nue; n nw i iswrn snce s hs jus been rue) echniues n rifcs e secn

e sci cinn f b in shpin humn pin. One cuben he eniin f echn incue he sci imensin ubecuse he erm echn s es cnures up merey echnic civiy sh f is sci cnex 77) beieve i preferbe empy weniins, e ne mre resce n he her mre incusive. Tehniqefwin 62 6) refers he sysem f mer resurces, s perinseuence skis verb an nnverb nwee n specc mes fwrk crinin cme in p in he fbricin f me rifcsSocioehnical yem, in cnrs reers he isincive echnica civ

i h sem frm he ne f echniues n mer cuure he scicrinin f br. The pper n inispensbe subjecs f sci nhrpy f echn erefre incue ree: echniues sciechnic ses mei uue

The sciecnic ssem cncep sems fm he wrk f Thms Huhesn he rise me eecrc pwer sysems 45 46; fr ppicins f he

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498 EBERGER

concept, see 68, 8 Accorng to Hughes, those who seek to evelop newtechnologes must conce themselves not only wth technques an facts;they must also engneer the socal, economc, legal, scentfc, an oltcalconex of the technology successful technologc nnovaton occus onlywhen all the elements of the system, he sal as well as the technologcal,have been moe so hat they wor together effectvely ughes 4 showsho Edion ough o upp elecrc lghng a a prce compeie hnatural gas economc, to obtan e suppor of ey poltcans poltcal, tocut own the cost of ansmttng poe techncal, an to n a bulb lamentof sufcently hgh resstance scentfc a successful socotechncal system, such as the electc lghtng nustry foune by Eson, the "web seamle he ocal nolul lned h he ecologcal and he

economc 0 2 I sho, socoecncal ysems are heerogeneous consucts that stem om he successful mocaton of socal an nonsocalactors so that they work together hamonously-that s, so that they resstssocaton 6 66le resst ssolvng or falng n the face of thesystem's adversaes. One or more socotechncal systems may be foun n agven human socey, each evoed to a prouctve goal.

Extenng Hughes's concept Law an atour 5 emphasze heculty of creatng a system capabe of resstng ssocaton systembuler s face wth natural an socal aversaes, each of whch must be

controlle and mofed f the sysem s to work Some o hem are moreobuae, an some of em more maleable, an others. In llusang thspon, a ho ha e ocoechncal yem concep apple fufully ohe udy of prenusral echnology, n hs case he rse of he Pougueemxegge vessels n the 4th an ealy th centues The real achevement, argues Law, was not merely the creaton of the mxergge vessel,wth ts ncrease cao caacty an stom stablty qually mpotant washe magnetc compass whch allowed a consstent heang the absence ofclea ses; e smplcaon of th asolab, such a ven semeucatemarners coul eemne er latude exploraon ha as speccally nended o produce ables of daa agans hch poson coul be judged andan undersandng of lanc ade ns, hch alloed shps o go foh none season an come back n another To acheve he necessay ntegaton ofall these factors, the system bulers ha to get maners, shp bulers, kngs,merchants, ns, sls, oo, nstruments, an measurements to wor togeher hrmonoul The tem he creae ree docaon he ereable o sal ou beond he Pllars o ercule on he coa o rca and

soon aoun the globe.lthough t s no easy tc to consruct a system resstant to ssaton,

socotechncal systems ae not nevable responses to mmutable constrants;hey do no prove he only way o ge he job done People unfamlar hechnolog all ael nerae he egree of lae choce openo novaors as the see o solve echncal poblems 4 More commonly,

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SOAL ANHROPOOY OF HNOLOY

one sees a range of optios, each with its tradeoffs, and it is fa fom obvious

which, f an, is superior. In vituall eve technical area, there is substantallattude for coce. For tce, Lemoer (62 ot to te etlyy vo of ecque oe move cro e Ne Gue g

ld; uch vriato to e foud, Lemoner ote, even mog toe"functional (as opposed to "stlistic) aspects of a tool that are directmplcated i ts cto upon mateial (6: 160 would be wrog to attibutea tem's "uccess (.e in resistng dsociation) to the choice of the "cor

rect tecque r ocl-coordto etod

B log to the ocology of cetc koledge (11 t ot c efomulated as a ricie f mmet. n the sociolog of scietific owledge, th prcle countered a older sociolog of scence that explaed the

success of a theo b its conformt to the Tuth, whle ascrbng he falure ofaoter teo to oc fctor (a, uece, nterets, etc) e prcple

ofymmetry cll for ecely te me kd o ocl el o e uedn ccoutg for the ucce a well a e aure o teoror, b exteno, of ocotechcl tem. Accordgly, t ould volte te prcle ofmmetry to rgue tht oe ytem ucceed becaue t ulder choe te

"rgt tecque, the oe tt relly "ork Of retly ucceful tem, e c y ly e ye ulder ve rely ucceeded rgg to lfe oe out of rge of pole ytem tat could ceve t

goal (e.g. trpg wld g, growng rce, or alng down the coat offric). Suc ytem could be veed a dptatio, le t cultural

ecology, but ol y bdong te t hc erg rter hc fallacy offuctonalm. t ocoteccal tem develo doe ot mpl tat t

the logicl stem, or the oly posble stem, that could hv dvelopeduder te crcumtce ocl coce, tctc ltertve techque, d teocal redefto of eed d aprto all lay role te re of

ociotechnicl sstems

ddtol exmle, out Id temle rrgto, ould el to clrf he socioechical tem ocep and s plcaton. A maked caactertc of grculture medevl out Id e rol doto ofwteld to commute of rm, wo tur ere ecourged to

orgaze and uerve giculturl producto. he did o by vetng teld el coructed temle, wc ovded locu of mgerl

control for the construction, maintenace, and management of comlex rgato tem (2, 67 t uccefull reted drought d led to majetceforecece of out d Hdu culture. Te eterogeeou qulty of

uc ytem mmedtely evdet. e ytem lked to coeve,ucceful ytem ctor uc kg, cldggg tecque, dm, o

ng water mode of coordatg laor for rce producto grculturl rtul,dete, oto of ocal rak d autorty, concepto of mrt owng fromdoo cceo of cte elo d occuo, coceto o o

cally dfferetated ace, relgou oto of he alutar eect of temle

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500 PERGER

on he feility of the eah, economic elations (land entitlements) ade,

temple achitectue, and knowledge of astological and asonoc cycles(used to coodinate agicultual activities). A human sociotechnical system

links a abuous divesity o socia and nonsocia actos into a seaess web

(47)Any soiotechica system shows the impnt o the context om which it

ose since syste bies st aw on eistin socia a cutua e

souces But it is impoant to stess tat evey sociotechnica system is in

pnciple a de novo constuct; to make the system wok system buildes dawom exsting esouces but modi them to make them nction within the

system. In his sense sociotechnical-system building is almost inevitably s

in 56 Society is te esut o sociotechnica-system buiding. Te

distinctive socia omaon of medieva south ndia, fo instance, is in lmostevey instance attbutabe to the achievement o the sociotechnical system otempe iaton The syste of temple ration daws on old ideas of ods

kngs, wate, dams, castes gis and al the est but it tansfoms evey one of

hese ideas in impont ways. In this sense the soiotechnical system conceptis in accod with e sctaton eoy o Gidens (30 Peope constctthei social wod using he socia esouces and suctues at hand but theactivities oiy the stctes even as they ae epouced.

A sociotechnica syste, ten, is one o te chie meas by which hmanspoduce tei soca wod Yet socioechnic systems ae al but invisiblethough the lenses povided by Wese economic political and scia theoyas Lansing (56 discoveed in his study o Bainese igation. Fom the standpoint o Westen theoy igation is oganized eithe by the despotic stte as

Wittoge gued o by autonomous vilage communities, as anthopologists

agued in epy. Invisibe witn this scouse ansing ound was the Bai

nese wate teple a ey coponent in a gonal sociotechical systemevote to the cooination o iaton asin iscoveed that te tes in

these Bainese wate tempes dene te ghts an esponsibilities o subsidi snes (and wih them the subks, o oca ice-gowing collectivities, hatine the wateshe) though ofengs ad ibations of hoy wate. By symbolicay ebedin each loca oup's quest o wate within te supa-oca

compass o tepe ta wate tepes encouage e coopeation necessto ensue not ony the equitable distibtion o wate but aso the euatedow of inundation and falowin that poves vital fo pest contol and feiityTelinly the solidaity that is ceated is not political the kin has obvious

inteests in pootin this nd o soidity but does not activey intevenewithn it. And neithe is this soidaity puey economic it cosscts otheenas o econoic inteation. A sociotechnica system engendes a distinctive o o social soiaty that is neihe econoc no politica (47) that iswhy it too so lon o hese systes to be "iscovee by aopooistsindocnated with cassica socia theoy.

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SOCIAL ANHROPOLOGY OF ECHNOOGY 501

ocoehnal sysem have remaned eqully nvsble hough he enspovded by he andd View of ehnology, which efuses o dea wih he

iua dimension of ehnia aiviy Aoding o he andd View and o viay evey aopoogia definiion of ehnoogy a ehnie is a

eective a 2 iing as opposed o magi o eigion pie makes his ommonsense assmpion expii in exding om "ehnoogy aymagio-eigious means by whih peope seek o ono naue 3 uha vew foeslls ny onsdeaon o e ul ole ha ua nsuons

pay in he oodinaion of abo and e newo's legmaon 8 a pon ha shod aeady be appren om he souh ndian andBalinese eape aeady diussed Among he Monagnds of highd

Vienam agiuue is no mee mae of maeia uue and manua

labo n he ony iual is a key omponen of agiulual wok; he ies a foh soia gops o engage in spei aiviies ad hey povide a meaommeny on he ene pduive pess oioehnal sysems may vey we inde ial omponens wih expii podive goas hawe fnd false h as enhanng he fely of he eh bu o gnoe hem s o mss he cucl oe hey play n e coodnaon of lao I would

eefoe gue a e soal anhopology of ehnology agans all omon

sense shod adop a pinipe of absoe impaiaiy wih espe o whehea given aiviy "woks ie is "ehil o "doesn wok ie. is "magio eigious; ony if we adop suh impiaiy do e soia dimensions ofsocoechnl acvy come o he foe 8

he labooodnaon ole of ual s susngly widespead ad o

good eason a woks sassingy we o odinae abo nde ondiions of saeessness o lol auonomy Among he ioa of lowlnd souhAmeca fo eample shaman uals employ se mysl nowledge o

ransfe myscal powes of feriliy nd nease o people who feel hemseves in need of sh powes aneo vews suh uals as n "ntl pt

of the produtive prctice of Piaroa ocie" 3 aneo s emphasisiven hei aess o wha aneo eingy als he "mysil meas of epoduion shamns legiimaely laim e igh o sol nd oodnaeagulual labo as well as oganze ade 86 Unde saeless o loallyauonomous ondons uals povde he deal medum fo he oodnaon of labo n a ey viualy ue ou den "yo anno gue wih asong i anka en ivi sevas meiosy eoded e esof he heshng oo whih equied eonomiay signifian ansaions o be onded wi a supesious spousness of deai and a speia

vuly nompehensble language s ual nguage equed ppans o ado an odd shbboleh as one obseve emed o hese vaonom nsaons; he limied voabulay shapy onsraned wha oud be sd hus nohe ey feaue of sooechncl sysems s hesilence e eaivey insignia oe payed by huma anguage as againsnonvebal ommuniaion in ia 8 as a oodnao of ehncl aiviies

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50 PFFFEEGE

Here we see et another reason for the nvsblt of such sstems wthn thecompass of Weste socal theor whh ecessvel prvleges language overnonverbal cognton and behavor

A successl socotechncal sstem acheves a stable ntegraton of socaland nonsocal actors but t s no statc hng: Keepng the network functonngrequres constant vglance and t ma also requre addtonal techncal orsocal modcaton ver socotechncal sstem must cope wth what Hughescalls aln, areas of obdra or resstane that prevent the sstemom epandng or threatn t wth dsocaton On reachng the ndes thePortuguese found that Muslms had monopoled the trade wth Hndu prncesthe Portuguese response was to work a good deal to make the cannon lghterand more powerful 6: 2728). Socotechncal sstems also betra a charac-

terstc lfe ccle 46 as the grow om nventon smallscale nnovatongrowth and development and a clma of mamum elaboraton and scopefollowed b senescence and deca unl the sstem dsappears or s replacedb a competng sstem Such lfe ccle ma be vsble n the mrad ccles ofnnovaton growth eforescence and deca that charactere the archaeolog-cal record

The socotechncal sstem concept n sum suggests that mere necesst sb no means the mother of nventon just as producton alone s b no meansthe sole ratonale for the astonshng lnkages that occur n socotechncal

sstems cf To be sure socotechncalsstem bulders react to percevedneeds as ther cultre denes them But we see n ther actvtes the essen-tall creatve sprt hat underes socogeness whch s surel mong esupreme modes of human cultural epresson Basalla 4 14 puts ths pontwell: human technolog s a "materal manfestaton of he varous wasmen and women throughout tme have chosen to dene and pursue estenceSeen n ths lght the hstor of technoog s part of the much broader hstoro human aspratons nd the plethora o made thngs re a product o humanmnds replete wth fantases longngs wants and desres Basalla's pont

suggests that no account of technolog can be complete that does not consderfull the manng of socotechncal actvtes and n partcular the nonproduc-tve roes of techncal actvtes n the ongong pragmatc consttuton ofhuman poltes and subjectve selves Socotechncal sstems can be under-stood as I argue n the net secton onl b acnowledgng that the producepower and meanng as well as goods

E MEANING OF AN RFA IS A SURFAE

MAER OF SYE

The commonsense Modesm of the Sandard Vew desocalzes human tech-nolocal actvy as has ust been rued b reducn the creatvt of so-cotechncsste uldn to the docne of Necesst n precsel thesame wa the Standrd Vew desocalzes the meanng of technologcal -


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SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF TECHNOLOGY 0

fact by reduing thi eaning to the artifact alleged function, wth a reidualand econdy role le for the relatively uercial atter (it i claed) ftyle. To recature the ociality of huan artifact it i neceary to turn thiditinction uide down. I begin therefore by arguing that the uoedly"hard art of he artifact, it function, i n reality the oftet, the one that iot ubject to cultural definiion.

Archaeologt coonly ditinguih function and tyle, a ha areadybeen noted. ut a hank illey argue,

t is iosse to searate out stye and e unton [or insane] n eter vessesae or rojetie oin oroogy. ere is no way in wi we an eaningfuy easre and detemine wat rooton of a ss's sa efoms someutiitaran end e reainde being assigned to te doain o stye o take a

air-wa roorion of tis is untiona oosed to syisi? o answer an be given; te sye ineres in e untion and vie versa. ureroreasribing any sei or srty deited union to an ojet is in any i not a ases an exreey dubous exerise A air ay e to sit on it nonayus tis untion u ars an so e used or standng on or or knokngole over e ead wt as enduus ler or aos anytng ese Ts isnot o deny e ana oint tat ojets ave uses and ay noray e used in

just one way but i is o suggst tat su a osiion reresents a best, a sartingoint raer tan an end oint or araeoogia anayss (9 :92).

The view of hank & illey are ehoed by Noran (59) who callattention to an artifact adan. An affordance i a erceived roery ofan tifact that ugget how it hould e ued Affordance are nerentlyultile: Differing ercetion lead to different ue. You can drin waterfro a cu to quench thirt but you can alo ue a cu to how you are wellbred, to ehaize your tate in chooing decor, or to hold odel airlanear. ut i not uch a oint jut o uch rained, ecial leading? Everyonenow that chair are pmaly for itting in deite inor variation ao-ciated wit ecic htorical tyle and tate, int the car nction theeeinent atte uh a ditintion between funtion nd tyl i oonene only to the extent that we ignore a key coonent of technology, ritual.In the receding ection I treed ritual roinent role in coordinating laborin ociotechnical yte. Here, ehaze the equally ronent role ofritual in dening the function of aterial culture.

To illutrate thi oint wih a convenient and ile exale draw on thework ofK L Ae on Victorian hallway furnihing ). Ae note that thehallway wa the only ace in the Victorian houe liely to be ued by both

ater nd ervant Mater and vitor o the ater ca would atrough the hall while ervant and tradeen would be aked to it there andwait. Ae call atention to the contradictory character of thee arifactThey had to be viually aealing to the ater cla a they aed hroughthe hall but if they included eat, they had to be autere, without uholtery,and uncofortable, bettng the lower ocial tatu of the eenger boy,

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SOCIL OPOOGY O TECHOLOGY 0

"function. But what is even moe imporant, Mer's work suggests that his

function of rifacts my inspire artifct diversity, key feture of humn

technology When mny verion of n rtifct re vibe they cn py

m es n so fe Me ones: Teoo o e nze she m xpln f h rn f mhd ud n rdr prdu

pd rn (72:201 m emphss) Pushng ths pont he, one nrgue tht mjor ratonae for the creaon of socotehna systems, eyond

mere Necesst, s the eaboaton of the mate symbos tht ae nspens

be fo te ondut of eveyay ife A one can ientify hee othe fom of

nkge, s et unexpore the inkge between the rtus tht coordinte

bor nd the ritus ht frme humn soci behvior by empoying materia

artifcts as cues t seems ikey that sch nkges amount to formidbe

apprtus of domnaton, even unde conditons of stateessness, hus beingthe mthos of egtsm n stteess sees

If no form of domintion goes unresisted then one woud expect rtifcts to be empoe n eesse ts t e speify esne to mute or

counter the invidious status impicaions of he dominan ritua system. Itherefore see the socia use of arifcts prphrasing Richrd Brown (1229,

s proess of nonverb ommnition. In his pocess, eh new t of

tu mng is sttement n n onon oe of t sttements nontesttements the ountesttements, peope whose sus s verseaecte by rituas try to otin or modify vaued arifacts, in n ttempt to

bunt or subvert the dominant rituas' impications. These statements and their

sbseqentunrmn hep to onsttte so etons s p I

eefoe ention to rdrv tehoog tvtes, whh ae nte

petve responses to technooic domnion, to highight he potc dimen

sion of technoogy I c this poity-buiding process a technologial dma

A technoogica dama (78 82 is a discourse of tecoogica statements countesttements n whh thee e ee eognbe proesses h-

nll rulrn hnll djumn nd hnll rnun A teoog m bens wh tehnoo eton his pocess, a esign consttuency reates approprtes, or moifes tehnoogica produion process aifat user ativity or system in such a way thatsome of its tchnica features mboy poitic imtht is, n intntion to

ater the aoation of powe, prestge or weah (57 Because a socotechnca

system s so osey emee n t myt ntve, e tehnoog

pocesses or ojects tht emboy these ams ca es be oke n mths of

unusu power Fords assemby ine fo exampe ws coked in the myth

tat it was he most efcient method of ssembin automobiesa mythnee, sine owe n Swesh eperments hve shown t temssemby woke empowement e ust s efent. Te mth maske

poitica im Ford sw the rigid and repetitive work roes as wy of domesticting nd controing the potentiy chotic and disrptive wororce of

Southe and Easten European immigrants (94 153. The stratiing roe of

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06 PAENBERGER

the Vctoran haway bench, to cte another example, was cloaked n a myth of

hygene, whch ascbed ts planness to ts uncton n seatng those who had

recenty sojoued n the flthy seets )

ke tets, the technologcal poceses nd tfacts generated by technologcal regulazaton ae subject o multple nterettons, n whch the

domnatng dscourse may be challenged tactly or openly. call such challenges hnll jun or hnll rnun In techno

logcal adjustment, mpact consttuences-the people who lose when a newproducton process or artfact s ntoducedngage n sateges to compensate the loss of selfesteem, socal prestge, nd socal power caused by the

technology. n ths rocess they mae use of contradctons, mbgutes, and

nconsstences whn the hegemonic frame of meanng as they try to valdate

her actons hey to control nd alter the dscouse that affects them sonvdously, and they ty to alter the dscursvely regulated socal conexts that

regulaaton creates. Polce whose oveents are traced by suvellancesystems, for example, become adep at ndng brdges and hlls that brea thesurvellance system's tracng sgnal They can then grab a burger or chat wth

another cop wthout havn her locaon loed Adustment stratees nclude appopaton, n whch the mpact consttuency es to gan access to aprocess or tfact om whch t has been ecluded (e.g. ) efore thepersonal computer, computer enthusasts and hobbysts leed how to hackther way no manframe systemsas dd te youthful ll ates (now te of Mcosoft orporaon), who was repued o have haced hs way no

systes wdely thought to be mpregnable technologcal reconsttuton,mpact consttuences ty to reverse the mplcatons of a techology through asymbolc nverson process call nnn econsttuton can lead tothe fabrcaon of counteratfacts (eg. 51) such as the personal computer or"approprate techology hch embody features beleved to negate or re

verse the poltcl mplcatons of te domnant sysem.

ollowng Vctor Tuer (1 832) I choose the metaphor ofdaa to descrbe hese processe A echnologcal dramas statemens and

counterstatements draw uon a culture's root aradgms, ts axoms aboutsocal lfe; n consequence, technologcal actvtes brng entrenched moralmpeatves nto promnence. o create the personal computer, for eample,was not only to create new poducton processes nd arfacts, but also to bngcompuaonal power o he People, o deal he sablshment a blow byapproprang s mlayderved ools, and o esore he polcal auonomyof the household vsvs the orporaton ere we see he denson o

desre that asalla 4 emphaszes: o consuct a socotechnl system s notmerely to engage n some creatve o productve actvty. It s to bng to lfe a

deeply desred vson of socal lfe, often wth a degree of fervor that can onlybe ermed mllenaran

n any explanaon of the motations underlyng socotechncalsysembuldng and atfact appopraton the ole of such actvtes n he subjectve


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50 PFFFEEGE

descbes the nonlinguistic leing that takes place a form of e

ing very incompletely nderstood in the cogniive sciences:

Imagine a Malagasy shifting cultivato with a fily cle, yet supple mentl model

rhaps we ould say a sript stored in long-term memory of what a 'goodswie is ke; a that ths model is ply visual ply alytial (though ntnecessrly in a sentential logicl way) prtly weled to a seres o proeuresabout what you should do to me nd maintn a swidden This Maagasy is goingrogh the ores wi a ien who sas to im Loo oer ere at at bit oorest hat would me a good swiden. What happens then is tat ater a rapidconceptualization o the bit of forest the moel o the good swidden is mentallymatched with the conceptualized rea of forest and then a new but related modelthis prticulr plae as a potential swidden is established nd stored in long-termmemory

Bloch agues that the lingistically deived theoy of hman cognition isinsufcient becase it canot accont for the speed with which we peorm

daiy tasks such as identifying a 'good swidden caot account as Millernotes for our abiity to absorb lmost instanty the socil implications of a ished inteor "consistin o a combination which is not onyalmost certainly in some degee uqe but some of whose basic elementsmay also be new to us. As we se technology for practical ad social puposes then we draw on a nonverbal form of hman cognition whose capabili

ties clealy fom an enomous, but heretofore little recognized, component ofor species everyday ntelligence e potion of technical knowledge thatpeople can verbalie represents only the tip of he iceber

The notion that technoloy is aplied science-that it represents the practi

ca se of logicallyfomuated lingisticallyencoded kowledgeis veymisleadin. A sociotechnical system s much better descibed as an ssm, a oman o osve goaorente acton n whch nowege an

behavior ae reciprocally constituted by social, individual nd mateial phe

nomena As Janet and Chales Keler have emphasized ad asBochs exampe so telingly ilstates an activity system constanty uxesbetween being and becomng Action has an emergent quaity which resltsfrom the continal feedback om eteal events to intea representationsnd om te intea representation ac to enactment rucia to hisprocess is a equaly ebe cycln amon ateatve contve odesincuding vsual/spatia thnkn and nistic/casscatoy thinking 53)Visua/spatial thiking is widespread in all techoogical activity systems,including todays igh technoogy. But visua/spatia think

ing is sent ompetent producers ad users rarely mention it. This kind ofknowede s lost sometmes eievably in the wake of tecnooca pogress Recreation of a system that has been lost is vialy impossibe Wehave no idea how some preindst aifacts were made et lne eective activity systes were so sccessfly coordnated nder prendsaconditions


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SOL HROPOLO OF HOLO

en one vews a socotechncal system as a complex heterogeneous lnage of nowedge, ritual, artfacts, techniques, and actvty, t s apparent that

much more tan vsua/spatal knowledge about mnufactue can e lost when

a sstem ssates. A umn socotecnca sstem nvoves e crna

ton of a massve compe network; n e cse of Pouguese nav epnson ths networ conssted of such enttes as ngs and queens, hps, crews,

wnds, cannons, maps, sals, astrolabes Muslms, and gold Vewed as an

actvt sstem, a socotechncl system must nclude all he conceptual, vsua, epeenta, cte, n ntutve knowege necess to mofy tese

verse eements so at ey work togeter amonousy Even n e most

"pmtve socotechnc systems, suc as tose of contempory unters an

gaherers lvng n mgna envonments (eg 61) he scope of knowedge

nteaon nvolved s penomenal Te complety of any human socotecncal system s beled by e smpcty of ts toos (32)

A um socotecnca sstems, weter pmtve or prenusa,are enormously complex and nerently heterogeneous Throug recognton

of ts fact one cn begn a ctue of e noton of Rupture at gures sopoet n te Stan ew ccorn to e St vew, too use s

auhni an fosters auonomy; one owns n conos one's own tools nd

sn't dependent on or epote by ohers When we use macnes, n contrast,we must wor at rhythms not of our own mang, and we become ensnaed n

he supraoca reatons necessary for er producton, stbuton, and mantenance To e etent tat we become epenent on macnes we o not own,

he stae s set for eplotaton We become vorce om natre, n our

conceptons of te wold become pahologcal, through a process calle r-

aon (a mlady frequently asserted to occur only n nusial socetes)

ccordng to the doctne of Rupture, recaon occurs because we empoobjects as a means of known ourselves Wen tese obects e no onger our

own auhentc proucts, as s te case w nusta prouce facts, ouraenton s efecte fom ctc sef-aweness to te ncompete uner

stood Ote who generates the artfact 44

The concept of socotechncal systems enables u s to see to wat egree thedoctrne of Rupture overstates the conseuences of te tanston from Tool to

Macne Aoug one wou be fools to deny he sncnt conseuencesof e macne' s se, prenus sotecnc sstems were emsevescompe n epotvefruent more so tn te Stan ew acknow

ledges prenustal sotechncal system unes materal, rual, and socal resources n a compreensve srategy for socetal reproducton In he

couse of pcpaon n suc a sstem, mn f not most ndvuls nemseves pan epenent n epote es B no mens s recaton

rescte to nusa tecnoog As Lansng notes for Ba,

Water temples establish connections tween productive goups and te components of the natural landscape that they seek to control. e natual woldsuounding each village is not a wildees but an engineered landscape of rice

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510 AEERGER

eae gaden aqed eaed by e oodnaed ao of eneraonsAnthopomoph detes evoke eda human presene n enneereddape Ea er s e gn f gaton system, a ohya ad oa ooen Te ne of he dey of he ie evoke he

oeive ia eene a he ei, wee fee-owing ive wae eomeonoed gaon wae (56:128)

It would aear ten tat reindustal sociotecnical sstes ave uc

in oon wit toda' s ane-ased tenologia sstes Bot rel ex

tensivel on nonveral cognition ot sow enorous colext and elao

raton and ot see to generate reifed notons rater an "auent

self-awareness. Moreover te ondtions of eedo in reindustrial societesare falsel reresented focusing on te allegedl nononsaining nature of

tool as oposed to acine use n sociotecnical sste ancient or ode riitive or industralized stes o te eorts of sste uilders woattet to reate a network aale of resisting dssoiaton s reviousl

argued te use of ritual to coordinate roductive activit in reindusial

sociotecnical sstes aounts to a for of doination and control evenunder stateless ondtons One an suest n fat at ot ode devesand reindustral sstes of ritual oordnation re acines as Latour719 denes te ter " ahne as te nae les s rst of al aacination a stratge a ind of cunning were orrowed forces ee one

anoter in cec so tat none can l art fro te grou atour refers ereto te le at anes la n untin e onsttuent eleents of esootenal sstes Manes tie te asseled fores to one anoter n asustainale networ (see 103 4 for tellng disussions of te diesel en

gine te Koda caera and te teleone To rgue tus is not to den tatte se of te acine as rougt aout iott if as et inoletel

understood alterations in uan soioenical actvit is to sess tat teStandard View w ts dvison o uman stor nto e ge o e l and

te e of he Mane sustntall overstates e olitia and sujetiveliations of e rse of anes (0 14

Wat ca te soiotecnical sstes conet tell us aout anoter ind ofruture te kind roduced wen a ode ndusrial tecnolo or artfat sadoted a "traditional siet? A variant of te tandard Vew erfec

exressed in te l e Gods ust e Craz alleges tat te wordwidedisution of industral atfats will inevital tear out te foundaons ofautent adtonal ultures and aw all te eoples in e wold wtn egp of onsuer ideolog pliit in s vew is a stron verson of teno

loial deternis te dotne tat eause tere is onl one wa to ake oruse a aterial rtifact eve culture at adots it will e forced to develo tesae sial ad laor relations ecause social inforation is so cudelenoded n artifats owever t s exreely unlely tat a ansfered arfat eed nn w e deolal e a ded For

exale Hedige (41 sows ow otor sooters were delieratel developed


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1 PAEERGER

e growth of a pauper class becaue rch arers diproporionaely beneom e exra-local eouces (highyielding vreies, pesticide, hebicides,

nd fetilizer) Other studies epor ta Green Revolution echnology does

no necessrily produce socioeconomic differentiaion, so long as counervail

ing cutom aue te quitale e of agricultual input (3, 20 31). assessg the sil nd cultural impact of de-localizaion, however it iimpo to be in mnd at asuming echnologicl deeminism i mucheaier an conducing a ll conea ud in which peope e hown obe he acive appropator, raher than he paive vicim, of anfeed

technoogy (79)Shrp's famous anlysis of seel axe mong "toneage Ausralins illus

tate te peril of eading too much technological deteinim into a single

cae Sharp showed how miionarie, by providing one axes o women andyoung men whose satus had previously been dened by having o ak baeldes fo tee tifacts brought down a precriously legitimated straticationsystem However ny tatus differentiation sytem hat depends on sumpuryregulations, rle that deny cerain arifact to hoe deemed low in tau, ivulnerable o riou adjumen raegie uch rifac udden becomewidey avabe; cuure contac and echnoogy ransfer re by no meansrequired to se uch procese in motion. The process Sh descred is notconstituive of echnology ranser per e; a cler nalogue is te esion of he

medieval tocracy' sats as peaan eed temelves om umpuryregulaions and acquired ighsaus rifacs (3 133

Whee echnoogica change ha appaen diped ocaed adiionaocieie, he viain i much moe iey o be cooniaim han tecoogy.Coloniim diup indigenou politia leg nd ua yem nd in odoing, may erously degrade the capacity of locl systembuilders to functioneffectively witn indigenous activity ytem colonial Sr Lna, the libera Brih govemen was obeed wih he eradicaion of muiple caimsto ld wich were peceived to dicourge investment nd socil progresshe ega eradication of such clam deoyed te aility of natve headmen toadust holdings o chnging water pply leve and undermined he radiional

bai b which abor wa coordinaed for he repair of dam and irrigaioncaa Viage a ad cana fe io epa a pecunou viagerllowed tei land to be tken ove b village boutique owners nd moneylende (79 Tis exmple sugget tha it i not tnfeed tecnology, butae te imposition of an alen and hegemonic legal d political ideologyargualy echnicism but not technologytha effecs diasrou social

change in coonized counres is when iotechnicl ytem come into dect compeion a is ecase n advanced echnologicl diffusion tha pecaculr disintegration ofindigenou yem can occu The uden deploymen of a compeing emma outp he capaci of indienous stem participant o conceptualizehei cicumance nd mae te neceay adutments their mode of de

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SOCIAL ANTROPOLOGY O TECNOLOGY 5

poing eoce mateia and hman no onge wok Lato 5832) comment

Th hug o ad t at o Loa a utg away o matt how may

mt thy togth au h wod [th ud] w uog tohod ha hagd y a muh th autu wod Sa ay oto como wh thy do o ow how ce o od caue theha o th od ha modd y oh ay

ONUION

Againt the Standad View exaggeated picte of technoogica evotionom impe too to compex machine the ociotechnica em conceptpt fowad a nivea conception of hman technoogica activt in whichcompex socia sctes nonveba activit sstems advanced ingisticcommcao e a cooao o ao avace aac maac

te the inkage of phenomena divese socia and nonsocia actos and thesocia se of divee atifact e a ecognied as pats of a singe compexthat i imtaneo adaptive and expeive

The ociotechica tem of the Machine Age do die om thei peindsia pedecessos bt he Stdd View gss exaggeaes hese de

ences Fo exampe most me denitons o technoog ar hat niethei peindtia pedecessos mode technoogica stems ae tem fothe appication of cience dawing thei podctive powe om objectiveingitica encoded knowedge (eg Bt on coe exanation we eehee the inence of Standad View mthoog Histoians of technoog tes that vita none of the technooges hat tu o ut sociaandscape wee pdced b the appatn ; th trar ence and oganized objective knowedge ae moe common the su oftechnoog The pincipe of themodnamic fo exampe wee dicoveed

a cientit oght to deteine how device acta woed ad what theiopeating pametes wee 2 The oio that mode technoog is eect becase it onded in obctiv "t kwdge vioates the pincipeof smme advanced eie in thi esa even a it denigates the achievement of pendtia ociotechnica tem A Laning note Baineewate tempe wee moe eective manage of iigation than the abtdiao Geen Revotion techniqe have been

B ettisoning mateiacte stdies in t e 20th tuy anthopoog os oe meas o eveopig a hoistic mtidiscipiny appach to

cte B eintating the ia anthopoog of technoog and mateiacte we a the fondation once again fo itf commnication amongocia athopoogit ethnoachaeoogit chaeoogit and tdent ofhma evotion Beide chaenging cetain mth abot tecoog atsocia aropoogiss oten tae o gat I ho th a h to athe eve of sch intedicipinay dicose Fo exampe effot ae now

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514 PAEERGER

newa to comehen hman evolton n te o the coex nelaamong tools, langage, an ntellgence 9. Fom he esecve o hsessa, sch an eot s msconceve ovevleges ools an langage ansgses the t sgncant henomenanamel, socotechncal sstemsan nonvebal cognton. To gas the evoltona sgncance o hmanechnologca acv, sgges ha anhoologss la ase he mhs o heSana Vew necess s he mohe o nvenon he meanng anatac s a sace mate o sle, an he hso o echnolog s anlnea ogesson om tools to machnes, an vew hman echnologcalactvt sng the concet o the socotechncal sstem. Once we o so, we canbegn to constct hotheses abot the uvrsls o hman technolognvesals ha hghlgh wha s sncly human abo acves as vese as

mng sone ls an lanchng sace vehcles

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