A Formal Approach to the Design and Assembly of Mobile Toolkits

TLDR

Design of mobile toolkits is driven by portability and utility, and can be framed as an optimization problem seeking maximum utility per unit weight. The study analytically investigates this problem by assuming simple artifact geometry and a functional relationship between utility and size. Using these assumptions, the authors model artifact utility as a function of potential renewal and size to derive optimal toolkit composition. The model predicts that toolkits should comprise small finished tools, as larger items increase transport cost more than durability or multifunctionality benefits, yet ethnographic and archaeological data reveal that in some cases functionality is constrained by overall size or mass.

Abstract

It is widely believed that the design of transported artifacts and toolkits employed by mobile populations is influenced by two main factors, portability and potential utility. Choices about the kinds of artifacts to carry around can be modeled as an optimization problem, in which it is beneficial to obtain the greatest potential utility for the minimum total weight. This study approaches the problem analytically, making a few simple assumptions about artifact geometry and the relations between utility and artifact size. If artifact utility is calculated as a function of potential for renewal, transported toolkits should consist entirely of relatively small finished tools. Moreover, most gains in durability or multifunctionality that require increases in overall size are outweighed by increased transport cost. Inconsistencies between these expectations and ethnographic and archaeological observations point to situations in which artifact functionality is more closely constrained by overall size or mass.