Awards

• Winner of College & Research Libraries Selected Reference Works, 2007-08 RUSA 2007 Outstan 0 (United States)
• Winner of College & Research Libraries Selected Reference Works, 2007-08 RUSA 2007 Outstan 2008
• Winner of College & Research Libraries Selected Reference Works, 2007-08 RUSA 2007 Outstan 2008 (United States)

Overview

People everywhere have attempted to change their bodies in an effort to meet their cultural standards of beauty, as well as their religious and/or social obligations. Often times, this modification or adornment of their bodies is part of the complex process of creating and re-creating personal and social identities. Body painting has probably been practiced since the Paleolithic as archaeological evidence indicates, and the earliest human evidence of tattooing goes back to the Neolithic with mummies found in Europe, Central Asia, the Andes and the Middle East. Adornments such as jewelry have been found in the earliest human graves and bodies unearthed from five thousand years ago show signs of intentional head shaping. It is clear that adorning and modifying the body is a central human practice. Over 200 entries address the major adornments and modifications, their historical and cross-cultural locations, and the major cultural groups and places in which body modification has been central to social and cultural practices. This encyclopedia also includes background information on the some of the central figures involved in creating and popularizing tattooing, piercing, and other body modifications in the modern world. Finally, the book addresses some of the major theoretical issues surrounding the temporary and permanent modification of the body, the laws and customs regarding the marking of the body, and the social movements that have influenced or embraced body modification, and those which have been affected by it. All cultures everywhere have attempted to change their body in an attempt to meet their cultural standards of beauty, as well as their religious and or social obligations. In addition, people modify and adorn their bodies as part of the complex process of creating and re-creating their personal and social identities. Body painting has probably been practiced since the Paleolithic as archaeological evidence indicates, and the earliest human evidence of tattooing goes back to the Neolithic with mummies found in Europe, Central Asia, the Andes and the Middle East. Adornments such as jewelry have been found in the earliest human graves and bodies unearthed from five thousand years ago show signs of intentional head shaping. It is clear that adorning and modifying the body is a central human practice. Over 200 entries address the major adornments and modifications, their historical and cross-cultural locations, and the major cultural groups and places in which body modification has been central to social and cultural practices. This encyclopedia also includes background information on the some of the central figures involved in creating and popularizing tattooing, piercing, and other body modifications in the modern world. Finally, the book addresses some of the major theoretical issues surrounding the temporary and permanent modification of the body, the laws and customs regarding the marking of the body, and the social movements that have influenced or embraced body modification, and those which have been affected by it. Entries include, acupuncture, amputation, Auschwitz, P.T. Barnum, the Bible, body dysmorphic disorder, body piercing, branding, breast augmentation and reduction, Betty Broadbent, castration, Christianity, cross dressers, Dances Sacred and Profane, Egypt, female genital mutilation, foot binding, freak shows, genetic engineering, The Great Omi, Greco-Roman world, henna, infibulation, legislation & regulation, lip plates, medical tattooing, Meso-America, military tattoos, National Tattoo Association, nose piercing, obesity, permanent makeup, primitivism, prison tattooing, punk, rites of passage, scalpelling, silicone injections, Stalking Cat, suspensions, tanning, tattoo reality shows, tattooing, Thailand, transgender, tribalism.

Full Product Details

9780313336959

Table of Contents

Reviews

In this guide, cultural anthropologist Margo DeMello explores the worlds of body adornment and modification. Her survey includes the ornamentation practices of dozens of historic, native and modern cultures, from ancient Greece, Rome and India to Russia, Sudan and new Guinea. Over forty types of body adornmdent and modification are described and explained. Coverage includes ear shaping, foot binding and scarification. Bodybuilding, fingernail treatments and tanning are presented as types of noninvasive adornment....Intended as an introduction for the general reader, this guide will serve both academic and public libraries. -Lawrence Looks at Books

<p> Cultural anthropologist Margo DeMello has written the Encyclopedia of Body Adornment to create a context for the many types of body modification and adornment found both in societies throughout history and in various subcultures in the modern world. She skillfully describes practices rooted in tradition as well as contemporary variations on ancient customs. . . . entries on both countries and societies of origin as well as innovators, popularizers, and contemporary groups do a good job of connecting old and new without overly privileging the new. A resource guide, thorough bibliography, and detailed index make the book a good research tool. There are a few tasteful black-and-white illustrations, plus a section of color plates. Each entry includes both specific references and cross-references to other entries. There was certainly potential to make this volume exploitative and provocative, but a professional, matter-of-fact tone makes it a good guide to both social and cultural research into the impulse behind some of today's radical makeover reality shows and fascination with extremes of behavior and body. - <p>ARBA

Author Information

Margo DeMello lectures at Central New Mexico Community College, teaching sociology, cultural studies, and anthropology. Her books include Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community (2000) and she has contributed essays to the Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships (Greenwood, 2007) and Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge (2004).

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