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

Name: Mechanics of Pre-Industrial Technology An Introduction to the Mechanics of Ancient and Traditional Material Culture
Price: 14.09 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780521428712

ISBN-10: 0521428718

ISBN-13: 9780521428712

Edition: 1990

Authors: Brian Cotterell, Johan Kamminga

List price: $49.99

This item qualifies for FREE shipping.

30 day, 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Buy new: $43.20

Marketplace

4 new & used from $14.09

what's this?

Rush Rewards U
Members Receive:

You have reached 400 XP and carrot coins. That is the daily max!

Description:

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…

Book details

List price: $49.99
Copyright year: 1990
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication date: 4/24/1992
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 344
Size: 7.50" wide x 9.75" long x 0.75" tall
Weight: 1.430
Language: English



List of figures


List of tables


Preface



Introduction


Invention and diffusion


Theories of cultural evolution


Artifact sophistication and complexity


The development of mechanical science


Mechanics of material culture


Methods of mechanical analysis


Mechanical experimentation


Definitions and units



Basic mechanics


Space and time


Mass


Force


The laws of motion


The main sources of force in pre-industrial technology


Muscular force


Gravitational force


Frictional force


Scalars and vectors


Acceleration


Work and energy


Power


Equilibrium and stability



Fluids and solids


Fluids


Concept of pressure


The motion of ideal fluids


The siphon


The water-wheel


Viscous flow


Water-clocks


Solids


Stress and strength


Deformation and strain


Stress-strain relationships


Resilience and strain energy



Machines


The lever


The moment of a force


Lever systems of animals


Lifting with a lever


The beam press


The balance


The inclined plane


The pulley


The winch and capstan


The screw


The gear wheel


The wedge



Structures


Suspension bridges


Column and lintel construction


Beams


Trusses


Arches and domes


Arches


Domes



Stone tools


The stone materials


Flaked stone tools


Fracture mechanics


The initiation phase of flake formation


The propagation phase of flake formation


The termination phase of flake formation


Flake surface markings


Ground stone tools


The mechanics of abrasion


Use-wear on stone tools



Projectiles


The motion of projectiles


The spear


The spearthrower


The stability of a spear


The boomerang


The bow and arrow


The composite bow


The archer's paradox


Torsion catapults



Land transport


The mechanics of walking


Pack transport


Wheeled vehicles


Friction of rollers and wheels


The dished wheel


Animal ability and harness


The wheelbarrow


Moving the colossi


Lubrication


Rollers


Ropes


Easter Island statues


Classical Greece and Rome



Water transport


Buoyancy


Lateral stability


Propulsion


Oars


Sails


Water resistance


The performance of the Trireme


Steering and directional stability



Musical instruments


The nature of sound


The pitch and quality of a musical note


Harmony and musical scales


Musical instruments


Chordophones, or stringed instruments


Aerophones, or wind instruments


Idiophones, or percussion instruments other than drums


Membranophones, or drums


Archaeomusicology



Epilogue



Glossary of mechanical terms



Symbols



Useful mathematical formulas


References


Index