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On the materials of mats: thinking through design in a Melanesian society
Author(s) -
Were Graeme
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the royal anthropological institute
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1467-9655
pISSN - 1359-0987
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9655.12051
Subject(s) - temporalities , affordance , natural (archaeology) , sociology , epistemology , geography , political science , computer science , archaeology , philosophy , human–computer interaction , law
This article examines the selective use of plant materials in design in M elanesia. It explores – through an analysis of pandanus leaf mats in N ew I reland, P apua N ew G uinea – how makers select fibres on the basis of their capacity to express social relations to varying temporalities before their natural decay. J . J . G ibson's theory of affordance and D onald N orman's concept of mapping are critically applied for this purpose. This approach emphasizes how social and temporal relations are condensed into objects, and refocuses anthropological attention towards materials and their affordances in the production of material culture.