Tetsushi Nonaka Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University

Our overall focus for this proposal is to understand the nature of material perception in skilled practice. Skilled practice is socially patterned and individually acquired, that is, both proper and expedient. What is the nature of the development of material perception in craft skill? What underlies the robust social patterning of technology that we find within a community of practice? In this proposal, we investigate material perception manifested in behavior of craftspeople in the practice of pottery making. First, we will investigate the dynamics of the hand movements to shape clay as potters make way through the final shape. Second, we will investigate the dynamics of morphogenetic change of clay when potters are forming shapes with different mechanical stability. By taking into account the communities of practice within which the potters developed their skills, we will further examine how the social relationships affect the range of variation in hand movement patterns and in morphogenetic paths observed during the process of pottery making.