Style and Social Information in Kalahari San Projectile Points

1983/04/01 by Polly Wiessner · 835 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Archaeology #Archaeology and Rock Art Studies #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Carry (investment) #Computer science #Geography #History #Interpretation (philosophy) #Physics #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Projectile #Projectile point #Style (visual arts) #Variation (astronomy)

paper · doi:10.2307/280450

published in American Antiquity 48(2), 253-276 (Cambridge University Press)

openalex publication_date 1983/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

The results of a study on the relationship between stylistic variation in Kalahari San projectile points and aspects of San social organization are summarized. Five issues relevant to archaeology are discussed in light of the San data: (1) stylistic behavior and the different aspects of style, (2) which items of material culture carry social information and why, (3) which attributes on San projectile points carry social information, (4) what the results of the analysis of stylistic variation in projectile points imply for current methods of stylistic analysis and interpretation, and (5) the correspondence between style in San projectile points and San organization.

Citations

• Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process
• Willow Smoke and Dogs’ Tails: Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems and Archaeological Site Formation
• A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
• The Archaeo-Ethnology of Hunter-Gatherers or the Tyranny of the Ethnographic Record in Archaeology
• Economic and Social Stress and Material Culture Patterning

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