ABSTRACT
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “artisan” as: “One who is employed in any of the industrial arts; a mechanic, handicraftsman, artificer.” By that definition there have been artisans in human societies since smiths began forming jewelry and tools in the Bronze Age, and there are still many artisans found in all countries of the world today. When social historians use the word “artisan,” however, they generally have a more restricted meaning; for them, artisans are not all those who transformed raw materials into commodities, but only those who also sold these commodities and owned their own tools. The slaves or servants of the ancient world who produced goods for their masters or employers are therefore not usually termed artisans, nor are the workers in modern factories. People did not have to call themselves artisans to be described as such in modern scholarship, however, for that label is also given to those who called themselves craftsmen, tradesmen, or me-chanics, or who spoke of themselves simply by occupation, such as shoemakers or butchers.
