Mechanics of Pre-industrial Technology: An Introduction to the Mechanics of Ancient and Traditional Material Culture

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, 1990 - Biography & Autobiography - 325 pages
This is the first general account of the mechanics behind pre-industrial technology. By combining the skills of an engineer and an archaeologist, it shows how mechanics can be used to create a better understanding of the function of artifacts and the achievements of early technology. The authors examine technology from the earliest stone tools of more than two million years ago to the erection of the statues of Easter Island which continued into the seventeenth century. Representative material cultures from most areas of the world have been selected for this study and the book shows how sophisticated many of their apparently simple techniques and artefacts actually were. After an introduction to basic mechanics the book examines the elements of machines: the various structures which can be made to bridge openings; the mechanics involved in fashioning stone tools; projectiles such as the spear and boomerang; the efficiency of transport by land and water; and the mechanics of musical instruments.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Theories of cultural evolution
5
Artifact sophistication and complexity
8
The development of mechanical science
11
Mechanics of material culture
13
Methods of mechanical analysis
14
Mechanical experimentation
15
Definitions and units
16
The initiation phase of flake formation
140
The propagation phase offtake formation
142
The termination phase of flake formation
145
Flake surface markings
147
Ground stone tools
151
The mechanics of abrasion
153
Usewear on stone tools
155
Projectiles
160

Basic mechanics
18
Mass
20
Force
22
The main sources of force in preindustrial technology
23
Gravitational force
25
Frictional force
27
Scalars and vectors
29
Acceleration
31
Work and energy
33
Power
35
Equilibrium and stability
44
Fluids and solids
47
The motion of ideal fluids
50
The siphon
54
The water wheel
56
Viscous flow
57
Waterclocks
59
Solids
64
Stress and strength
65
Deformation and strain
69
Stressstrain relationships
70
Resilience and strain energy
72
Machines
74
The lever
75
The moment of a force
77
Lever systems of animals
80
The beam press
83
The balance
84
The inclined plane
86
The pulley
89
The winch and capstan
93
The screw
94
The gear wheel
96
The wedge
97
Structures
101
Suspension bridges
102
Column and lintel construction
104
Beams
106
Trusses
115
Arches and domes
119
Domes
123
Stone tools
125
The stone materials
127
Flaked stone tools
130
Fracture mechanics
135
The spear
163
The spearthrower
166
The stability of a spear
170
The boomerang
175
The bow and arrow
180
The composite bow
185
The Archers Paradox
187
Torsion catapults
188
Land transport
193
Pack transport
196
Wheeled vehicles
197
Friction of rollers and wheels
198
The dished wheel
204
Animal Ability and Harness
206
The wheelbarrow
214
Moving the Colossi
216
Lubrication
220
Rollers
223
Ropes
225
Easter Island statues
226
Classical Greece and Rome
232
Water transport
234
Buoyancy
237
Lateral stability
238
Propulsion
245
Sails
250
Water resistance
255
The performance of the trireme
257
Steering and directional stability
259
Musical instruments
265
The nature of sound
266
The pitch and quality of a musical note
267
Harmony and musical scales
270
Musical instruments
276
Aerophones or wind instruments
280
Idiophones or percussion instruments other than drums
287
Membranophones or drums
291
Archaeomusicology
292
Epilogue
293
Glossary of mechanical terms
296
Symbols
305
Useful mathematical formulas
308
REFERENCES
309
INDEX
319
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