materialculture

Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. It includes artifacts such as tools, clothing, dwellings, architecture, and everyday items, as well as the spaces, landscapes, and built environments in which people live. The study focuses on the relationships between people and objects, how objects embody social values, identities, and power relations.

Scholars analyze the production, distribution, use, and disposal of objects, and how objects circulate through societies. Methodologies include artifact analysis, typology, contextual analysis, ethnography, and museology. The concept of object biographies tracks the life history of items from creation to current status.

Material culture intersects with archaeology, anthropology, sociology, history, and art history. It examines topics like technology change, consumer culture, ritual and symbol, gender and class, labor, and colonialism. It also studies material culture across cultures and time, including how globalization and digital media reshape objects and meanings.

In museums and heritage, material culture informs collection, display, and interpretation. Digital material culture, such as software, hardware, and digital artifacts, is a growing area, reflecting how intangible aspects become material through circuits, interfaces, and data storage. The field emphasizes interpretation of objects within social contexts rather than mere physical description.