A Culture of Stone

Inka Perspectives on Rock

Nonfiction, History, Americas, South America, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology, Art & Architecture, Art History
Cover of the book A Culture of Stone by Carolyn J Dean, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Carolyn J Dean ISBN: 9780822393177
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: October 21, 2010
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Carolyn J Dean
ISBN: 9780822393177
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: October 21, 2010
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

A major contribution to both art history and Latin American studies, A Culture of Stone offers sophisticated new insights into Inka culture and the interpretation of non-Western art. Carolyn Dean focuses on rock outcrops masterfully integrated into Inka architecture, exquisitely worked masonry, and freestanding sacred rocks, explaining how certain stones took on lives of their own and played a vital role in the unfolding of Inka history. Examining the multiple uses of stone, she argues that the Inka understood building in stone as a way of ordering the chaos of unordered nature, converting untamed spaces into domesticated places, and laying claim to new territories. Dean contends that understanding what the rocks signified requires seeing them as the Inka saw them: as potentially animate, sentient, and sacred. Through careful analysis of Inka stonework, colonial-period accounts of the Inka, and contemporary ethnographic and folkloric studies of indigenous Andean culture, Dean reconstructs the relationships between stonework and other aspects of Inka life, including imperial expansion, worship, and agriculture. She also scrutinizes meanings imposed on Inka stone by the colonial Spanish and, later, by tourism and the tourist industry. A Culture of Stone is a compelling multidisciplinary argument for rethinking how we see and comprehend the Inka past.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A major contribution to both art history and Latin American studies, A Culture of Stone offers sophisticated new insights into Inka culture and the interpretation of non-Western art. Carolyn Dean focuses on rock outcrops masterfully integrated into Inka architecture, exquisitely worked masonry, and freestanding sacred rocks, explaining how certain stones took on lives of their own and played a vital role in the unfolding of Inka history. Examining the multiple uses of stone, she argues that the Inka understood building in stone as a way of ordering the chaos of unordered nature, converting untamed spaces into domesticated places, and laying claim to new territories. Dean contends that understanding what the rocks signified requires seeing them as the Inka saw them: as potentially animate, sentient, and sacred. Through careful analysis of Inka stonework, colonial-period accounts of the Inka, and contemporary ethnographic and folkloric studies of indigenous Andean culture, Dean reconstructs the relationships between stonework and other aspects of Inka life, including imperial expansion, worship, and agriculture. She also scrutinizes meanings imposed on Inka stone by the colonial Spanish and, later, by tourism and the tourist industry. A Culture of Stone is a compelling multidisciplinary argument for rethinking how we see and comprehend the Inka past.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Deviations by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Latin American Subaltern Studies Reader by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Coming through the Fire by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Fragility of Things by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Ethics of Citizenship by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Reconstructing Dixie by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Pursuit of Happiness by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Catholic Lives, Contemporary America by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Picturing Imperial Power by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Criminals of Lima and Their Worlds by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book A Reference Guide to Medicinal Plants by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Postmodernism Debate in Latin America by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book The Sublime Perversion of Capital by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Crossing Borders, Claiming a Nation by Carolyn J Dean
Cover of the book Japan After Japan by Carolyn J Dean
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy