Anthropology of Precious Minerals

E-bok

Engelska, 2019

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Beskrivning

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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2019-11-04
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:216
Filformat:EPUB
Kopieringsskydd:LCP
ISBN:9781487517342
Förlag:University of Toronto Press

Utforska kategorier

Kulturvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Antropologi inom Samhälle och politik
Människans biologi inom Naturvetenskap och teknik

Mer om författaren

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.

Recensioner i media

"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 (CHOICE)

Innehållsförteckning

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Engaging Precious MineralsAndrew Walsh, Elizabeth Ferry, and Annabel VallardPart One: Engaging Mineral SourcesIntroduction to Part One: Scrappers, Miners, and HuntersSusan D. Gillespie1. "Check Out That Gold-Plated Board!" Scrapping Cellphones and Electronics in North AmericaJoshua A. Bell2. What Is "Artisanal" about "Artisanal Mining"? Reflections from Madagascar’s Sapphire TradeAndrew Walsh3. The Value and Social Lives of Alpine CrystalsGilles RaveneauPart Two: Mineral ConnectionsIntroduction to Part Two: Making Preciousness: Distinction and RefractionElizabeth Ferry4. When Stones Become Gems: Valuations of Minerals in ThailandAnnabel Vallard5. Transparent Minerals and Opaque Diamond SourcesFilipe Calvão6. Gold, Ontological Difference, and Object AgencyLes W. FieldAfterword: Facets of PreciousnessAndrew Walsh, Elizabeth Ferry, and Annabel VallardContributorsIndex