The nature of power - one of the central concerns in social science - is the main theme of this wide-ranging book. Introducing a much broader historical and geographical comparative understanding of domination and resistance than is available elsewhere, the editors and contributors offer a wealth of perspectives and case studies. They illustrate the application of these ideas to issues as diverse as ritualized space, the nature of hierarchy in non-capitalist contexts and the production of archaeological discourse.
Drawing on considerable experience in promoting interaction between...

Throughout history and across social and cultural contexts, most systems of belief--whether religious or secular--have ascribed wisdom to those who see reality as that which transcends the merely material. Yet, as the studies collected here show, the immaterial is not easily separated from the material. Humans are defined, to an extraordinary degree, by their expressions of immaterial ideals through material forms. The essays in Materiality explore varied manifestations of materiality from ancient times to the present. In assessing the fundamental role of materiality in shaping...