• Laboring with the Economics of Mycenaean Architecture: Theories, Methods, and Explorations of Mycenaean Architectural Production

    Author(s):
    Charlie Harper (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Group(s):
    Archaeology, Digital Art History, Digital Humanists
    Subject(s):
    Archaeology, Classical antiquities, Greeks--Social life and customs
    Item Type:
    Thesis
    Institution:
    Florida State University
    Tag(s):
    Architecture, CAD, Digital Reconstruction, GIS, Greek archaeology, Classical archaeology, Digital scholarship, Greek culture
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M62F88
    Abstract:
    This study examines the connection between architecture and economy in Mycenaean Greece; it is a deep investigation of economic theory and models of the Mycenaean economy, existing methods for the study of prehistoric architecture, and particular Mycenaean structures. Over the course of the study, I present current thinking on the Mycenaean economy and fundamentally rethink the concept of economic embeddedness and human agency. With a novel theoretical grounding, I present a methodology based in human action to study the intersection of architecture and the Mycenaean economy, and in three detailed case studies, I apply the methodology to the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, the harbor town of Kalamianos in the Corinthia, and the Northeast Extension of Mycenae's fortification wall. I argue that to advance the study of Mycenaean economy and theory, the concept of economic embeddedness, which posits that economic actions and decisions are bounded by larger social concerns, must be rethought. In its place, I offer a theory of complex embeddedness that envisions human action as fluid and cross-cutting traditionally circumscribed categories of economy, society, and polity. This foundation in human action with it links to agency theory helps to move the study of architecture away from the static sociopolitical meaning of the final built form and towards the human processes of construction. Under the guidance of this theory, I envision construction as a form of production in which individuals interact with one another and the material world to build a structure. I ultimately use the term architectural production to label this novel viewpoint. To study architectural production at a range where human actions and agency matter, I advance a methodology that draws together architectural energetics, chaîne opératoire, and tools from the construction management industry.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
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