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about culture, which was now conceived: (1) as multivariate approach was foundational in
“a system composed of subsystems” (Binford the analytical separation between style and
1965: 203) in which “different classes of archae- function, which was later reelaborated by
ological remains reflect different subsystems” other authors.
(Binford 1965: 203) and (2) as “man’s Sackett (1977) also made a clear distinction
extrasomatic means of adaptation (White 1959: between the style and function operating in three
8)” to the environment (Binford 1965: 205). This scales: entire archaeological assemblages, arti-
meant that “people, things, and places are com- facts, and attributes that characterize them
ponents in a field that consists of environmental (1977: 371-372). Yet he did remark that both
and sociocultural subsystems, and the locus of were contrasting and complementary features.
cultural process is in the dynamic articulations Function was conceived as a feature perceived
of these subsystems” (Binford 1965: 205). Thus, in the actions, ends, and roles that an artifact
culture “is not necessarily shared; it is partici- performed within its context, while style was
pated in by men” (Binford 1965: 205). Such conceived as the choices made by a society
ideas had a deep impact on the way style was within a broad range of equally valid alternate
conceived by processual archaeologists: culture – means of achieving the same end (i.e., the same
and style within it – was not just in people’s artifact) (1977: 371-372). Such choices were
minds, was not necessarily shared, and was not socially transmitted and thus had diagnostic
detached from the environment: culture involved value in the archaeological identification of cul-
practice and had adaptive functions to the envi- tural traditions and of the degree of intensity of
ronment. Did style have functions too? The social interaction between two historically
answers to this question had a broad variety of related loci (1977: 371-372).
replies within the processual framework. Breaking away from the processual frame-
Binford himself proposed that stylistic vari- work and proposing a neoevolutionist approach,
ability could be defined as the continuity of “for- Dunnell (1978) focused on the concept of natural
mal attributes, which vary with the social context selection as a key to addressing evolutionary
of manufacture exclusive of the variability of the processes underlying cultural change. In doing
use of the item” (Binford 1965: 208); that is, style so, and contradicting the processual approach,
and use (or function) of an item were seen as he noted that “a substantial segment of the
separate but interrelated realms. To pursue their archaeological record is not best understood in
study, he devised a complex set of interrelated terms of adaptation” (Dunnell 1978: 192),
variables to be approached through a multivariate because stylistic features of material culture
perspective: were not adaptive. Thus, he proposed that there
(a) Formal variation was seen as integrated by existed a fundamental dichotomy between
morphological variation and decorative vari- function – accountable in terms of evolutionary
ation, which in turn were intersected by the processes – and style, accountable in terms of
technical dimension and the design dimen- stochastic processes, that is, not subject to the
sion (Binford 1965: 205). bias of natural selection (Dunnell 1978: 192).
(b) Cultural variation was conceived as inte- These concepts have been challenged as well as
grated by four variables: techno-morpholog- revisited and refined (e.g., Hurt & Rakita 2001;
ical, morphological design, decorative Shennan & Wilkinson 2001).
techniques, and decorative designs, which, Following Dunnell, Meltzer restricts the term
in turn, were intersected by the primary func- style to refer to “those forms in a cultural system
tional variation (directly related to the spe- that do not have detectable value: those forms are
cific use of an artifact) and the secondary adaptively ‘neutral’” (Meltzer 1981: 314). Style,
functional variation (a by-product of the as a residual attribute, is interpreted as added for
social context of production and use of the purely social purposes. On the contrary, func-
artifact) (Binford 1965: 206). This tional features do not depend directly on
Style: Its Role in the Archaeology of Art 7107 S
transmission factors or interaction between Yet social interaction interpretations done by
groups but may result from adaptations or the other authors were severely challenged by Plog
development of similar activities in similar (1978), who pinpointed numerous false assump-
environments. tions underlying several stylistic ceramic studies
Contrary to these views, a number of (e.g., that “all households made the pottery they
researchers have suggested the coexistence of used” and that “manufacture of ceramics was
different styles with different functions within a female activity”) and thus proposed that “one
the same culture, with differences between reli- should not simply calculate a similarity coeffi-
gious and secular art, or between civil and domes- cient between design frequencies at two sites and
tic art (Schapiro 1952: 294). Similarly, Smith assume that it measures interaction and nothing
observes the use of two different styles among else” (Plog 1978: 368). Following the work of
the Aboriginal people from Barunga (Arnhem Wobst (1977), Plog (1978), and others, in the
Land, Australia) with different functions: 1980s several authors addressed style as
a figurative style for non-ceremonial contexts a process of social interaction and exchange,
and a geometric style for ceremonial contexts both in the analysis of portable art (e.g., Gamble
(Smith 1994: 241). 1982) and rock art (e.g., Jochim 1983; Schaafsma
A different approach to style was developed 1985; Smith 1992a, b, 1994).
by Wobst, who defined it as “that part of the
formal variability in material culture that can be Style from Post-processual and Social
related to the participation of artifacts in pro- Frameworks
cesses of information exchange” (Wobst 1977: The post-processual and social frameworks chal-
321). The author broke the style/function lenged several of the ideas about style mentioned
opposition and proposed instead that “stylistic above: they share in common the fact that they
behaviour does have functions” (Wobst 1977: see style as an active factor in the production and
321). Following core concepts of communication manipulation of material culture, a factor that
theory, Wobst viewed artifact styles as media stems from human agency, can be used as
through which messages could be encoded by a source of power to do things and over people
emitters even in the absence of receivers, and resources, and thus, having crucial effects on
while, in turn, messages could later be decoded the social lives of those involved in the creation,
in the absence of emitters. The longevity of arti- circulation, and display of artifacts and structures
facts (though clearly some are highly perishable) fashioned with a particular style, operating within
and the control of the emission of messages via a particular context. However, as will be noted
the use of rare materials or high-cost energy below, these approaches do strongly differ in
investment in the signals were conceived as par- their epistemology: those labeled here as “social”
ticular features of this mode of information com- being more prone to neopositivist and dialectical S
munication. He also pointed out that the epistemologies combining induction and deduc-
archaeological expectations of stylistic behavior tion, while the post-processual ones being more
include: prone to hermeneutic and interpretive
(a) Artifacts with high visibility. epistemologies.
(b) Artifacts which are “potentially encountered As a pioneer of post-processual archaeology,
by more individuals” and most accessible to Hodder contested the adaptationist and function-
them. alist notions of culture and style and proposed
(c) “social-group-specific stylistic form[s] that material culture was better conceived as
should occur only among those messages “the environment within which individuals find
that are most widely broadcast, that broadcast their places and learn the places of others, their
group affiliation, and that enter into processes goals and expectations. Yet it also produces new
of boundary maintenance” (Wobst 1977: situations and is . . . the medium through which
330). individuals achieve their ends” (Hodder 1985: 5).
S 7108 Style: Its Role in the Archaeology of Art
Thus, as part of any material culture item, style (i) passive style ¼ isochrestic variation ¼
involved social action, including simultaneously function
“meaning and experience, subject and object, versus
interpretation and observation” (Hodder 1985: (ii) active style ¼ iconological variation ¼
4). Moreover, the political dimension of style communication
was stressed by pointing out that pottery decora- To this, Wiessner (1989) replied that both
tion, for example, could be interpreted as “part of aspects of style – functional and communicative –
the negotiation of power, defining boundaries, could be passive and/or active, hence breaking
and producing social differences” (Hodder such strict dichotomy.
1985: 4). Many of these ideas are still in use. Finally, from a more openly social and mate-
From a more social and ethnographic point of rialist theoretical point of view, Earle has ana-
view, Wiessner (1983, 1989) defined two key lyzed the manipulative uses of style as
concepts related to the links between style and a justification of social inequality (Earle 1990).
identity that have generated an important debate The author has pointed out that, among other
in archaeology: emblemic style was defined as factors, artifacts and structures created using
the formal variation that consciously transmits elaborated art styles, luxury items, and durable
information about affiliation to a group, while materials generate aesthetic, and affective reac-
assertive style was defined as the formal variation tions can be very effective means of conferring
that carries information about individual individual’s roles, status, and power due to the
identity. While this distinction is extremely fact that they look not just visually appealing but
meaningful in terms of the multiple social impli- also solid, permanent, and thus unquestionable
cations of style as an identity marker, it also has (Earle 1990).
some shortcomings when applied to certain pre-
historic archaeological contexts in which the dis-
tinction between assertive or emblemic becomes Key Issues/Current Debates
untestable.
A similar set of concepts was devised by Mac- Current Uses of the Concepts of Style: Key
donald (1990), who stated that protocol referred Elements in Style Analysis
to the set of steps undergone in the production of In the twenty-first century, style still plays
an item within a stylistic framework, while a significant role as a tool to discern social iden-
panache referred to the ability of an individual tities and to establish relative chronologies when
to negotiate and push the boundaries of such analyzing art materials and more particularly
protocol for his/her own aims. rock art. While portable forms of art can be
In turn, Sackett (1990) elaborated his previous dated through the archaeological context where
ideas about style and function and proposed a set they are found, direct rock art dating is still prob-
of concepts: isochrestic variation was related to lematic, and when possible, it generally dates
the choices made between variants that are func- a particular motif or artwork. But an absolute
tionally equivalent and transmitted neither inten- date would only be meaningful to the archaeo-
tionally nor consciously through enculturation logical study of art if the motif or the artwork can
within social groups, but rather passively and be assigned to a specific stylistic assemblage or
inadvertently (hence, challenging Wiessner’s unit defined by the reproduction of a certain set of
notion of an emblemic style consciously common principles. Only then will we be able to
informing about identity); iconological variation identify artistic traditions, assign them to specific
was related to the active and intentional commu- time periods, and explore their geographic distri-
nication of contents through the creation and bution, to study the duration and intensity of
selection of specific images and/or designs. specific occupations, the boundaries and interac-
Thus, Sackett had proposed a more complex tions of specific human groups, and other aspects
dichotomy: related with human geography and exchange
Style: Its Role in the Archaeology of Art 7109 S
networks and their evolution over time (Domingo order to discover if different rules of com-
2005, 2012). position and arrangement exist. Similarly,
In order to obtain information about the past compositions and scenes have to be care-
through the analysis of artworks, we need to fully analyzed looking for changes in sub-
systematically describe and quantify their main ject matter.
characteristics and compare them, looking for (e) Patterns of addition and superimposition.
similarities and differences to classify them in The way the motifs are added to the panels
meaningful units. or artifacts can also be specific to
But what are the key elements in style a particular individual or group. Do they
analysis? use specific areas of the panel or artifact?
Style, or the particular way of doing of Do they use new sites or surfaces, or do
a specific individual or group, can be found in they reuse previously used ones? Do they
any step of the process of production (Leroi- respect previous motifs or overlap them?
Gourhan’s 1964 notion of Chaine Operatoire), How is the morphology of the decorated
of an artwork, whether technological, formal, or surface integrated in the composition or
functional. When producing an artwork, there is scene? Superimpositions of motifs that
a range of choices from which the artist can are stylistically similar may simply be an
select, either intentionally or simply by following artistic license to show group perspective.
a set of instructions learned in a specific context. But those including different styles are
The artists’ choices can be unique to them or their quite significant for stylistic analysis
group, and thus they become stylistic. since they offer a sequence of events, and
To find traces of identity through the analysis thus, they are useful to establish relative
of artworks, it is necessary to systematically sequences.
decompose their process of production, since sty- (f) Analysis of the spatial distribution in the
listic behavior can be identified in different steps natural and cultural context. The distribu-
of this process: tion of portable art may provide informa-
1. Style can be identified in the formal features of tion on the geography of specific traditions
an artwork (form and decoration). The study but also on exchange networks. But rock
of the formal features is usually approached art is fixed to place, and thus it is a relevant
through visual analysis, including systematic source of data to understand the way space
description of different descriptive categories was defined and used by a specific group,
(always adapted to the type of artwork under the duration and intensity of the occupa-
analysis, whether rock art, portable art, body tion, and how the perception of a specific
art, and so forth) and quantification of their place changed over time in the construc-
frequency to observe if they change over time tion of social identities (Lenssen-Erz, S
and/or space. Some of these categories 2008; Domingo et al. 2008). When talking
include: about rock art, this is usually explored
(a) Motif types (abstract, geometric, or figu- through landscape analysis.
rative and their subcategories, such as 2. Technological features (medium and produc-
humans, animals, plants, and objects). tion techniques).The way the artworks are
(b) Shape (proportions, modelling, animation, made can also be stylistic. From raw materials
perspective, and so forth). and resources to produce binders, paintings,
(c) Size. and tools, to the selection and preparation of
(d) Formal relations in space (patterns of the decorative surface (rock or portable art),
composition and scenes). Once motifs the selection of the techniques (paintings,
have been analyzed, it is important to engravings, or carvings), and so forth may all
look for regularities in the way they are be constraint by cultural practices. While
distributed through the panel or artifact, in some aspects of the technological process of
S 7110 Style: Its Role in the Archaeology of Art