Crafting Culture at Fort St. Joseph: An Archaeological Investigation of Labor Organization on the Colonial Frontier

The study of labor organization through the examination of craft production in complex societies has been a topic of intense scholarly interest (Blackman et al. 1993; Costin and Hagstrum 1995; Shafer and Hester 1991). A number of scholars have hypothesized that goods produced in mass quantities by particular specialists can be recognized by their high degree of standardization or homogeneity (Blackman et al. 1993:61; Schiffer and Skibo 1997). As such, this study employs the theoretical framework that in an archaeological context it is possible to differentiate centralized production from noncentralized production by identifying any standardization or variation within the manufacturing techniques used and formal style of the final forms created. This study investigates the way labor was organized in the context of Native American and French populations in the western Great Lakes fur trade at Fort St. Joseph. Specifically, this study examines the degree of standardization or variation in the technological metalworking practices and morphological variation associated with one form of material culture – the tinkling cone.

针对复杂社会中手工业生产的考察以探究劳动组织模式，长期以来都是学界高度关注的研究议题（布莱克曼等，1993；科斯坦与哈格斯特勒姆，1995；谢弗与赫斯特，1991）。诸多学者提出假说：特定专精从业者批量生产的器物，可凭借其高度的标准化或均质性得以识别（布莱克曼等，1993：61；希弗与斯基博，1997）。基于此，本研究采用如下理论框架：在考古学语境下，可通过识别器物生产工艺与最终成品形制风格所存在的标准化程度或差异，区分集中式生产与非集中式生产。本研究旨在探究位于圣约瑟夫堡（Fort St. Joseph）的五大湖西部毛皮贸易场景中，美洲原住民与法国人群体的劳动组织方式。具体而言，本研究聚焦于一类物质文化遗存——叮铃锥（tinkling cone），并考察与其相关的金属加工工艺技术的标准化程度与差异，以及形态变异情况。