artisans

(noun)

Skilled manual workers, who use tools and machinery in a particular craft.

Related Terms

Examples of artisans in the following topics:

  • The Chimu

    • The majority of the citizens in each ciudadela (walled cities in the capital of Chan Chan) were artisans.
    • In the late Chimú, about 12,000 artisans lived and worked in Chan Chan alone.
    • Artisans played an essential role in Chimú culture:
    • Artisans were forbidden to change their profession, and were grouped in the ciudadela according to their area of specialization.
    • The Chimú are known for their artisanal works, such as this mantle spun of multiple colored fibers sometime from 1000-1476 CE.

  • Society Under the Shang Dynasty

    • It featured a stratified social system made up of aristocrats, soldiers, artisans and craftsmen, and peasants.
    • Artisans and craftsmen comprised the middle class of Shang society.

  • The Caste System

    • By around 1000 BCE, the Indo-Aryans developed four main caste distinctions: Brahamin, consisting of priests, scholars and teachers; Kshatriyas, the kings, governors and warriors; Vaishyas, comprising agriculturists, artisans, and merchants; and Sudras, the service providers and artisans who were originally non-Aryans but admitted to Vedic society.

  • Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization

    • Most city-dwellers were artisans and merchants grouped together in distinct neighborhoods.

  • The Mixtec

    • The work of Mixtec artisans who produced work in stone, wood, and metal were well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica.

  • Ancient Carthage

    • Its artisans worked expertly with ivory, glassware, and wood, as well as with metals and precious stones.

  • The Toltecs

    • Indeed in the Nahuatl language the word "Tōltēcatl" [toːlˈteːkat͡] (singular) or "Tōltēcah" [toːlˈteːkaʔ] (plural) came to take on the meaning "artisan".

  • The Legacy of Alexander the Great

    • Many historical documents from the era demonstrate that the Attalids supported the growth of towns by sending in skilled artisans and remitting taxes.

  • Teotihuacan

    • Many of the buildings contained workshops where artisans produced pottery and other goods.

  • The Rise of the Han Dynasty

    • This period also saw the further development of the four-class hierarchy, called the "four occupations," which gave aristocratic scholars the highest social status, followed by farmers, then craftsmen and artisans, and finally merchants.