Overview

Of all avian groups, birds of prey in particular have long been a prominent subject of fascination in many human societies. This book demonstrates that the art and materiality of human engagements with raptors has been significant through deep time and across the world, from earliest prehistory to Indigenous thinking in the present day. Drawing on a wide range of global case studies and a plurality of complementary perspectives, it explores the varied and fluid dynamics between humans and birds of prey as evidenced in this diverse art-historical and archaeological record. From their depictions as powerful beings in visual art and their important roles in Indigenous mythologies, to the significance of their body parts as active agents in religious rituals, the intentional deposition of their faunal remains and the display of their preserved bodies in museums, there is no doubt that birds of prey have been figures of great import for the shaping of human society and culture. However, several of the chapters in this volume are particularly concerned with looking beyond the culture–nature dichotomy and human-centred accounts to explore perspectival and other post-humanist thinking on human–raptor ontologies and epistemologies. The contributors recognize that human–raptor relationships are not driven exclusively by human intentionality, and that when these species meet they relate-to and become-with one another. This 'raptor-with-human'-focused approach allows for a productive re-framing of questions about human–raptor interstices, enables fresh thinking about established evidence and offers signposts for present and future intra-actions with birds of prey.

Full Product Details

9781350267992

Table of Contents

Reviews

Raptors have long captured the human imagination. This book deploys theoretically sophisticated analyses to explore a wide range of human-raptor interactions around the world and extending into the past, revealing the depth of these relations * Nerissa Russell, Professor of Anthropology, Cornell University, USA * [This collection offers] a breath of disciplinary perspectives and fresh insights into the fascinating and little-known relationships of humans and raptors across a variety of historical, socio-political and cultural contexts. -- Sara Asu Schroer, University of Oslo, Norway * IBIS: International Journal of Avian Science *

"""Raptors have long captured the human imagination. This book deploys theoretically sophisticated analyses to explore a wide range of human-raptor interactions around the world and extending into the past, revealing the depth of these relations"" --Nerissa Russell, Professor of Anthropology, Cornell University, USA"

Author Information

Robert J. Wallis is Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor in Art History at the Open University, UK.

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