Time - relentless, ever-present but intangible and the single element over which human beings have no absolute control - has long proved a puzzle. The author examines the phenomenon of time and asks such fascinating questions as how time impinges on people, to what extent our awareness of time is culturally conditioned, how societies deal with temporal problems and whether time can be considered a resource' to be economized. More specifically, he provides a consistent and detailed analysis of theories put forward by a number of thinkers such as Durkheim, Evans-Pritchard, Levi-Strauss, Geertz,...
Time - relentless, ever-present but intangible and the single element over which human beings have no absolute control - has long proved a puzzle. The...
This work collects together the most influential of Gell's writings with a new introductory chapter written by Gell. The essays vividly demonstrate Gell's theoretical and empirical interests and his distinctive contribution to several key areas of current anthropological enquiry. A central theme of the essays is Gel's highly original exploration of diagrammatic imagery as the site where social relations and cognitive processes converge and crystallise. Gell tracks this imagery across studies of tribal market transactions, dance forms, the iconicity of language and his most recent and...
This work collects together the most influential of Gell's writings with a new introductory chapter written by Gell. The essays vividly demonstrate...
In traditional Polynesian societies, tattooing has played a key role in the social construction of the individual. This is the first study to provide a comparative analysis of tattooing in its original setting--based on a comprehensive survey of both written and oral sources. Drawing on modern social theory, psychoanalysis, and anthropological studies, Gell demonstrates the role of tattooing in the complex array of controlling sacredness and protecting the self.
In traditional Polynesian societies, tattooing has played a key role in the social construction of the individual. This is the first study to provide ...