Overview
Why do people single out gold, sapphires, diamonds, and other minerals as particularly ""precious""? What makes precious minerals ""precious""? Drawing from ethnographic and cross-cultural research, this collection of anthropological essays and case studies answers these questions by exploring humans' multifaceted relationships with the minerals they deem ""precious."" The Anthropology of Precious Minerals addresses the entanglement of humans and minerals, with a particular focus on the practices of scrappers, miners, and hunters as they work to extract value. The editors draw from history, archaeology, and ethnography, and remind us that ""preciousness"" must always be understood in relation to complex cultural, political-economic, and semiotic systems of value.
Full Product Details
Author: Elizabeth Ferry ,
Annabel Vallard ,
Andrew Walsh
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.70cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.10cm
Weight: 0.460kg
ISBN: 9781487503178
ISBN 10: 1487503172
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 06 December 2019
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
The Anthropology of Precious Minerals highlights the fluid entanglements between humans and precious minerals. In doing this, the editors draw from history, archaeology, and contemporary ethnography, while several of the contributing authors draw from literary works in such ways that obscure the boundaries between the material and immaterial. - Nicole Smith, Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School of Mines Sophisticated and fascinating, The Anthropology of Precious Minerals makes valuable contributions to several key theoretical issues in contemporary anthropology, and features notable scholarship and excellent prose. - Anne Meneley, Department of Anthropology, Trent University With distinct chapters, this volume conveys the dynamic and complex processes of valuation and circulation of precious minerals. I very much enjoyed this breadth. It illustrated the fascinating questions that arise in diverse but related instances. - Mette M. High, Department of Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews
""Collectively, the processes of mineral valuation and circulation of precious minerals illustrate that ‘preciousness’ should be defined relative to complex and dynamic cultural, political-economic, and semiotic value systems. Compelling, thoughtful analyses of affect and materiality."" -- C. C. Kolb, independent scholar * <em>CHOICE</em> *
Author Information
Elizabeth Ferry is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University. Annabel Vallard is a researcher at The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, France). Andrew Walsh is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Western University.
