Skills and learning difficulties involved in stone knapping: The case of stone‐bead knapping in Khambhat, India

Abstract Skills involved in the knapping of Harappan long carnelian beads are studied in order to assess their value as well as knappers’ socio‐economic status. Skills are studied by reference to present‐day bead knapping in Khambhat, India. They are examined from the way actors are able to handle the complexity of the task and achieve it. They are analyzed in terms of learning difficulties and duration of apprenticeship. The methodology followed is proper to the psychological field. It enables us to understand, in particular, the necessary long apprenticeship required for knapping long beads whatever the culture in which it takes place. It follows that Harappan long carnelian beads are interpreted on the one hand as made by highly skilled craftsmen who developed specialized skills for a very limited demand, on the other hand as highly valuable.

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