Is There a Connection Between Object Diversity and Aesthetic Sensibility?: A Comparison Between Biological Domesticates and Material Culture

Humans cultivate diversity of natural and cultural objects in particular contexts and support this by investing in an aesthetic sensibility for diversity. In studies of crop and livestock management, this is well established, but this paper additionally suggests that even when diversity in food crops erodes, diversity of ornamentals consumed recreationally may replace it. Similar patterns and processes can be seen in other domains, such as the design features of material culture, exemplified here in Nuaulu basketry and shield-making. The final part of the paper examines how cultivation of object diversity and its aestheticization plays out in the economic and cultural history of the West when looking at other cultural domains as varied as paintings, commercial brands and beer mats, under conditions that might be thought to reduce it.