Adornment : what self-decoration tells us about who we are
Davies, Stephen, 1950-2020
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Click and Collect for Adornment : what self-decoration tells us about who we areElaborating the history, variety, pervasiveness, and function of the adornments and ornaments with which we beautify ourselves, this book takes in human prehistory, ancient civilizations, hunter-foragers, and present-day industrial societies to tell a captivating story of hair, skin, and make-up practices across times and cultures. From the decline of the hat, the function of jewelry and popularity of tattooing to the wealth of grave goods found in the Upper Paleolithic burials and body painting of the Nuba, we see that there is no one who does not adorn themselves, their possessions, or their environment. But what messages do these adornments send? Drawing on aesthetics, evolutionary history, archaeology, ethnology, anthropology, psychology, cultural history, and gender studies, Stephen Davies brings together African, Australian and North and South American indigenous cultures and unites them around the theme of adornment. He shows us that adorning is one of the few social behaviours that is close to being genuinely universal, more typical and extensive than the high-minded activities we prefer to think of as marking our species - religion, morality, and art. Each chapter shows how modes of decoration send vitally important signals about what we care about, our affiliations and backgrounds, our social status and values. In short, by using the theme of bodily adornment to unify a very diverse set of human practices, this book tells us about who we are.
Main title:
Adornment : what self-decoration tells us about who we are / Stephen Davies.
Author:
Imprint:
London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.
Collation:
viii, 264 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 22 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
1.The Sungir Children -- 2.What Adornment Is -- 3.Bodily Adornment Practices -- 4.Aesthetics and Adornment in Prehistory -- 5.Differences between Men and Women -- 6.Body Painting and Makeup -- 7.Scarification and Tattoos -- 8.Piercings, Plugs, and Jewelry -- 9.Clothing -- 10.Bali---Sungir Writ Large -- 11.Conclusion.
ISBN:
97813501209909781350120983
Dewey class:
391.609
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
372606
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumaris Library | Adult Non Fiction - Health and Wellbeing | 391.609 DAV | Available |
Find it!
Total copies: 1
Available: 1
Click and Collect for Adornment : what self-decoration tells us about who we are