Material Culture
- Food and Drink
- Range of Foods
- Staple foods
- Taboo foods (the disliked, the forbidden, those that make ill)
- Age: baby, adult
- Kinds of Drinks
- Non-alcoholic: mother's milk, water, milk, juices, tea, coffee, cocoa
- Alcoholic: fermented, (beer, wine), distilled (whiskey, rum, vodka, etc.)
- Narcotics: tobacco, marijuana, coca, peyote, opium, betel
- Fire: friction, flint, matches, lighters, electric
- Preparation
- Cooking
- Seasoning: relishes, spices
- Salt
- Storage: drying, salting, smoking, pickling, fermenting, canning, refrigerating, freezing
- Frequency (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 times a day) and Time (e.g., British tea time)
- Ceremonial
- Meals: with whom, seating arrangements, dish sharing, manners, social significance
- Clothing and Jewelry
- Functions
- Protection: weather, safety, of wealth
- Modesty
- Adornment
- Status
- Gender: male or female
- Age
- Marital Condition
- Class
- Occupation
- Political Affiliation
- Religious Affiliation or Rank
- Conservatism: how rapidly do clothing styles change?
- Colors and Patterns
- Amount of Clothing
- Fit of Clothing: loose hanging versus fitted
- Materials: plants, animal skins, woven fabrics (plant, silk, synthetic, metallic)
- Headwear
- Bodily Adornment
- Hairstyles
- Tatoos
- Body Piercing and Mutilation
- Rings
- Chopping off Fingers
- Elongating neck or lips
- Binding Feet
- Body Shape Changing: corsets and bras
- Jewelry
- Where worn
- When worn
- Materials of choice and value
- Metals: gold, silver, copper, platinum, nickel, pewter, tin
- Stones: diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, turquoise, onyx, other stones
- Plants: seeds, nuts
- Housing, Furnishings, and Settlement Patterns
- Functions
- Protection from Elements
- Privacy
- Comfort
- Personal Space and Security
- Status
- Tribal/Ethnic Identity
- Location: caves, along rivers, on hills, cities, towns, alone
- Materials: cloth, hides, wood, bamboo, stone, brick, steel, concrete, glass, plastic, dirt, ice
- Technology of Construction
- Size and Style: castle, hut, courtyards, arches
- Layout: rectangular, octagonal, shotgun, oval, circular, multi-story, number of rooms
- Embellishment: ornamentation, colors, carvings, decorations
- Outbuildings: outhouse, cooking house, sweatbath, menstruation house, study, servant house, storage shed, garage, barn
- Furnishings
- Bedroom: blanket, mat, mattress, raised bed
- Kitchen: fire pit, fireplace, oven, range, ice box, refrigerator, dishwasher
- Other: chair, bench, table, shelf, lamp, washing machine, dryer
- Community layout: circular, in line, rectangular blocks, at random
- Travel and Transportation
- Walking and Footwear: sandal, moccasin, shoe, boot, snowshoe, ski
- Domesticated Animals: horse, mule, donkey, camel, ox, reindeer, dog
- Pulled Vehicles: travois, sled, sleigh, wheeled vehicles (carts, chariots, wagons)
- Trails, Roads (paved, graveled, unpaved), and Railroads
- Mechanized Vehicles: bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, trucks, trains
- Water Travel: rafts, canoes, boats, ships (oars, sails, powered [steam, diesel, nuclear])
- Compass, Charts, and Maps
- Tools, Utensils, Weapons, and Machines
- Tools
- Materials: stone, wood, metal
- Agricultural Tools: plow
- Textile Tools: spinning wheel, loom
- Hand Tools: ax, adz, hoe, hammer, saw, etc.
- Utensils
- Storage Utensils: gourds, horns, jars, bottles, containers (glass, metal, plastic)
- Cooking Utensils: pots, pans, skillets
- Weapons
- Hand: knife, club, ax, sword
- Distance: spear, boomerang, harpoon, bow and arrows, sling, catapult, bola,
blowgun
- Defensive: shield, armor, helmet
- Explosive: firearms (pistol, rifle, shotgun), bombs, missiles, rockets
- Vehicles: tanks, airplanes, warships
- Machines
- Power: animals, mechanical, electrical, electronic
- Mills: hand mill, treadmill, watermill, windmill, power mill
- Crafts: Ceramics, Textiles, and Metallurgy
- Pottery
- Availability of clay and tempering materials
- Molding, Coiling, Throwing on a Wheel
- Glazing and Firing
- Porcelain (china) and Glass
- Textiles
- Basic: animal skins and bark cloth
- Spinning, Weaving, and Plaiting of Cloth
- Felt Production
- Basket Making: plaiting or weaving, wrapping and twining, coiling and stitching
- Metalworking
- Precious Metals: gold, silver, and copper (smelting)
- Bronze (alloy: copper plus tin)
- Iron (wrought, molded or cast, welded)
- Steel (alloy of iron and carbon)
- Other Metals
Adapted and expanded from Keesing 1958: 197-220
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Last updated on February 2, 2004
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Copyright © 2000-2004 Bruce Terry