Gender, technology, and evolution: Cultural inheritance theory and prehistoric potters in Valencia, Spain

In this paper I explore the potential of cultural inheritance theory to address the specific social contexts of craft production in prehistoric societies. Proponents of agency theory have criticized the "techno- science" approach of scholars working with other theoretical paradigms and their unwillingness or inability to focus on human behavior instead of material remains. By emphasizing the social and contextual nature of technological practices, the critique has successfully highlighted the need to engender prehistoric technological practices. Cultural inheritance theory, one of several complementary currents in evolutionary archaeology, is particularly well suited to identify specific social contexts of craft production and provides a well-grounded framework for engendering prehistoric technological practices. Neolithic ceramic technology from Valencia, Spain provides a case study.