Values and Revaluations: The Transformation and Genesis of Values in Things from Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives

Kl Ckner, Anja

ISBN 10: 1789258138 / ISBN 13: 9781789258134

Edité par Oxbow Books, 2022

A propos de cet article

2022. Paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

N° de réf. du vendeur V9781789258134

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Values and Revaluations: The Transformation and Genesis of Values in Things from Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives
• Éditeur: Oxbow Books
• Date de parution: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1789258138
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781789258134
• Reliure: Couverture souple
• État de l'article: New

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Why are some things valuable while others are not? How much effort does it take to produce valuable objects? How can one explain the different appraisal of certain things in different temporal horizons and in different cultures? Cultural processes on how value is attached to things, and how value is re-established, are still little understood.

The case studies in this volume, originating from anthropology and archaeology, provide innovative and differentiated answers to these questions. However, for all contributions there are some common basic assumptions. One of these concerns the understanding that it is rarely the value of the material itself that matters for high valuation, but rather the appreciation of the (assumed or constructed) origin of certain objects or their connection with certain social structures. A second of these shared insights addresses the ubiquity of phenomena of 'value in things'. There is no society without valued objects. As a rule, valuation is something negotiated or even disputed. Value arises through social action, whereby it is always necessary to ask anew which actors are interested in the value of certain objects (or in their appreciation). This also works the other way round: Who are those actors who question corresponding objective values and why?

À propos des auteurs

Hans P. Hahn is Professor for Anthropology with regional focus on Africa at Goethe University Frankfurt. He spent many years in West Africa (Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso) doing ethnographic fieldwork on a wide range of themes of rural economies. His research interests are oriented towards material culture, consumption, migration and mobility in non-western societies. He participated in the organization of several exhibitions on human action and materiality. Other ongoing research initiatives are linked with polysemic approaches to material culture studies.

Anja Klöckner is Professor of Classical Archaeology and Head of the Collection of Classical Antiquities at Goethe University Frankfurt. Her research interests are visual media in Greek and Roman culture, funerary culture in Roman Imperial times and archaeology of religion. Her recent publications include an edited volume on Treveran Grave Monument.