The Knossian Kamares Style as Transgenerational Memory

Abstract

This paper introduces a new perspective on the constitutive role of material culture for memory using the Knossian Kamares pottery style as a case study. It challenges prevalent approaches in mainstream memory studies, which confine memory to individuals’ brains or minds, suggesting a deeper relationship between material culture and memory. Presenting a novel methodology rooted in cognitive archaeology to study the long-term making of Knossian Kamares decorations, I suggest that the Knossian Kamares pottery style is a transgenerational memory that enabled generations of artisans to remember, learn, and update technological skills and knowledge. I also claim that, in assuming this distributed, enactive, and non-representational stance on style as memory, it becomes evident that remembering is something we do: an active engagement that emerges with and through material culture in specific sociomaterial settings.