Abstract

Specialised crafts are widely associated with urban centres in pre-industrial societies and a leitmotif in archaeological discussions of urbanism. Yet the specific role which crafts play as a dynamic in processes of urbanisation is by no means agreed upon. This lecture debates the entanglement between specialised crafts and urbanism, and how these may be approached in a network perspective. A key point is that many crafting activities did not only involve intricate chains of production (chaînes opératoires) but also entangled webs of many people and processes – réseaux opératoires. It argues that the need for access to raw materials, opportunities for learning, markets and, perhaps more than anything, the need for collaboration between specialiaed artisans was a decisive incentive for the formation of some urban networks. It also shows how analyses of raw materials, production techniques and the dispersal of products may reveal these networks.