Disappearance of Everyday Life Objects: A Biography of the Token

This study is situated within the field of material culture studies, which examines the close relationship between humans and the objects that influence their lives. Although objects are often regarded as stationary, this interdisciplinary field argues that they are active participants in social and cultural processes. Ac- cordingly, this research constructs a cultural biography of the token, an everyday object that has largely disappeared from daily life. The study examines what its disappearance signifies, positioning this transition not as an end, but as a crucial stage in the object's life cycle where its meaning is re-negotiated. Drawing on qualitative data from user-generated content on the Turkish online platform Ekşi Sözlük, the analysis traces the token's shifting social and symbolic roles across six interrelated contexts: creation, communication, consumption, memory, learning/experience, and technological mediation. The findings reveal that while the token's physical function has vanished, its cultural presence persists through language, metaphor, and collective memory. The research concludes that this persistence shows obsolete objects continue to shape contemporary social and technological dynamics, highlighting the enduring influence of material culture beyond its physical existence.

Keywords: material culture, object biography, secondary objects, token