3. The Artistic Past: Aesthetic Preferences

Abstract

This chapter considers the aesthetic context of Ban Chiang artifacts by examining the decorative elements used by the prehistoric artists who decorated the Late Period painted pottery.Following a review of the basics of symmetry operations, I review and update my model of symmetry analysis based on a Chomskian linguistic analogy and apply it to the unprovenienced Late Period painted pottery photographed in the early seventies.The chapter also considers possible approaches to the symbolism and meaning of the designs themselves, including representational possibilities.Based on new approaches to symmetry and cultural processes, the chapter concludes with some future questions that could be asked even of unprovenienced material culture.

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