Dark Trophies

Simon Harrison is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Ulster and has carried out ethnographic fieldwork among the people of Avatip in Papua New Guinea. He is the author of, among other works, The Mask of War (Manchester University Press, 1993) and Fracturing Resemblances: Identity and Mimetic Conflict in Melanesia and the West (Berghahn Books, 2005).

"Prepare to cringe. As if the horrors of combat were not enough, Harrison introduces another brutal, and ultimately fascinating, element of humans at war: military trophy taking - an important book. Highly recommended." * Choice "The synthetic breadth and original analysis of Dark Trophies make it an insightful and important scholarly contribution. It shows persuasively how 'savagery' has persisted as a social practice within modern warfare, thus challenging ideas about the 'civilized' West. Historians and anthropologists of violence, warfare, the body, and race in Europe and America will find it a source of inspiration." * The American Historical Review "This is an extremely interesting book with a strong argument overall - It is extremely readable, makes anthropological analysis accessible and does not over-exoticize the topic. Most admirably, the author keeps a tight focus on cross-cultural analysis - The bibliography is comprehensive and will also be a very useful tool for interested readers and researchers. I can't think of anything like it in the extant literature; it bridges colonial North American and 20th century Pacific warfare, for instance." * Laura Peers, University of Oxford "This is a wonderful book, which I found quite compulsive reading, and this is due not only to the compelling and often indeed disturbing subject that it focuses on, but also to the accessible yet sophisticated writing style of its author." * Joost Fontein, University of Edinburgh

• Acknowledgements Introduction: Dark Trophies of Enlightened War Chapter 1. Schemas and Metaphors Chapter 2. Hunting and War: the European History of a Metaphor Chapter 3. Bodies and Class in the Age of Revolution Chapter 4. The European Enlightenment and the Origins of Scalping Chapter 5. Skulls and Science Chapter 6. The Collecting Expedition as a Magical Quest Chapter 7. Skulls and Scientific Collecting in the Victorian Military Chapter 8. From Hero to Specimen: Phrenology, Craniology and the Indian Skull Chapter 9. Ethnology, Race and Trophy-hunting in the American Civil War Chapter 10. Museums and Lynchings: Bodies and the Exhibition of Order Chapter 11. Savages on the Frontiers of Europe Chapter 12. Skull Trophies of the Pacific War Chapter 13. Transgressive Objects of Remembrance Chapter 14. The Colonial Manhunt and the Body Parts of Bandits: Hunting Schemas in British Counter-insurgency Chapter 15. Kinship and the Enemy Body in the Vietnam War Chapter 16. Returning Memories Conclusion References Figures Figure 1a:Taboo: wife and sister Figure 1b: Metaphor: wife and crown Figure 2: Metaphoric and taboo relationships between social practices