Reconstructing situated learning in a community of practice using cognigrams

Artefacts are the primary resources of archaeological research, and they provide us with evidence about the evolution of hominin sensory-motor and cognitive capacities. Extended childhood is an evolutionary hallmark of Homo sapiens and developmental psychology provides rich insights on how specifically human cognition emerges from infancy to adulthood. Yet, attempts to analyse the cognitive abilities of past children as reflected in their tool behaviour are rare. At the same time, novel theoretical and methodological approaches have boosted the visibility of prehistoric children suggesting that their situated exposure to specific materials and technologies in part conditions their cognitive ontogeny. Applying the cognigram approach to ethnographic observations and museum objects from the Wodaabe of West Africa, we reconstruct a setting of situated learning through developing peripheral participation across different-age learners and teachers. Based on a bow-arrow-quiver set made for playing it is possible to identify different learning processes and aims as well as changing roles within a community of practice of Wodaabe bowyers. Against this background, we discuss the role of play in innovation and, taking our argument into prehistory, we note how the initial emergence of play objects correlates with periods of innovation.