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Modélisation du travail du cuir en ethnologie : proposition d'un système ouvert à l'archéologie

Sylvie BEYRIÈS

fr Anthropozoologica 43 (1) - Pages 9-42

Published on 27 June 2008

This article is a part of the thematic issue Hide processing: ethnoarcheological approaches

Modelling the working of hides in ethnology: proposition of a system open to archaeology

Technical processes can reveal certain aspects of the socio-economic organisation of the human groups that used them; this is the case for hide-working. The working of hides is an activity that leaves very little trace on the ground. Tools are often the only elements which represent this craft. How can they provide us with information on the techniques used? This article proposes, for leather-working, an open system of analysis which enables, through functional analysis of stone tools, the exact recovery of the positioning of the hide when it was worked, the shape of the handle of the tool used, the exact grasp of this tool, the gestures made by the craftsman. Once these elements are defined, it becomes possible to determine the constraints related to using the process chosen and thus to discover, in part, the socio-economic organisation.


Keywords:

Ethnoarchaeology, modelling, leather, traceology, techniques.

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