Monumental architecture
A thermodynamic explanation of symbolic behaviour
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3918852 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bruce G Trigger (McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 119-132 |
| Publication date | 1990-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00438243.1990.9980135 |
| OpenAlex | W2067187503 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 293 |
| References cited | 37 |
While human beings cope with the production and distribution of goods by trying to achieve maximum efficiencies in energy expenditures, the basic way they symbolize power is through the conspicuous consumption of energy, control of which is the fundamental measure of power. Conspicuous consumption occurs in the form of monumental construction, supporting large numbers of energy consumers, production of high energy-consuming luxury goods, and an emphasis on non-useful movement (processions, needlessly large rooms, etc.). By expanding the concept of energy-use to cover conspicuous consumption as well as efficiency of production, it can be seen as a basic factor in shaping the political as well as the economic behaviour of human beings and can explain why, as systems of inequality evolve, monumental architecture becomes an increasingly prominent feature of the archaeological record. This enlarged concept would also broaden a materialist perspective on human behaviour to take account of many significant aspects of the ideational components of such behaviour that appear in the archaeological record
Consumption · Materialism · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
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Monuments, Empires, and Resistance
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“All That Is Solid…”
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| Unique citing works | 293 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,23 |
| Citation span | 1970 - 2026 (57) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 291 |