compiled by Paul G Murawski This `Millennium First Edition' does not claim to be an academic study nor an archaeological finds report but it does provide a visual guide for the identification of artefacts and, more specifically, an object's market value. The objects are presented chronologically, from the Palaeolithic to the post-Tudor years, and are valued according to their rarity, condition and demand.
This book is an introduction to the study of artefacts, setting them in a social context rather than using a purely scientific approach. Drawing on a range of different cultures and extensively illustrated, Archaeological Artefacts and Material Culture covers everything from recovery strategies and recording procedures to interpretation through typology, ethnography and experiment, and every type of material including wood, fibers, bones, hides and adhesives, stone, clay, and metals. With over seventy illustrations with almost fifty in full colour, this book not only provides the tools an archaeologist will need to interpret past societies from their artefacts, but also a keen appreciation of the beauty and tactility involved in working with these fascinating objects. This is a book no archaeologist should be without, but it will also appeal to anybody interested in the interaction between people and objects.
This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’.
"Political economy is defined in this volume as collective state or corporate support for art and architecture in the public sphere intended to be accessible to the widest possible public, raising questions about the relationship of the state to cultural production and consumption. This collection of essays explores the political economy of art from the perspective of the artist or from analysis of art's production and consumption, emphasizing the art side of the relationship between art and state. This volume explores art as public good, a central issue in political economy. Essays examine specific cultural spaces as points of struggle between economic and cultural processes. Essays focus on three areas of conflict: theories of political economy put into practices of state cultural production, sculptural and architectural monuments commissioned by state and corporate entities, and conflicts and critiques of state investments in culture by artists and the public."--amazon.com edit. desc.
Slow Looking provides a robust argument for the importance of slow looking in learning environments both general and specialized, formal and informal, and its connection to major concepts in teaching, learning, and knowledge. A museum-originated practice increasingly seen as holding wide educational benefits, slow looking contends that patient, immersive attention to content can produce active cognitive opportunities for meaning-making and critical thinking that may not be possible though high-speed means of information delivery. Addressing the multi-disciplinary applications of this purposeful behavioral practice, this book draws examples from the visual arts, literature, science, and everyday life, using original, real-world scenarios to illustrate the complexities and rewards of slow looking.
For the past two centuries and more, the West has acquired the treasures of antiquity to fill its museums, so that visitors to the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan in New York - to name but a few - can wonder at the ingenuity of humanity throughout the ages. However, in the opinion of most people, many of these items are looted property and should be returned immediately. In 'Keeping Their Marbles', Tiffany Jenkins tells the intriguing and sometimes bloody story of how the West came to acquire these treasures. Originally published: 2016.
'Wicked Problems' are those problems facing the planet and its inhabitants, present and future, which are hard (if not impossible) to resolve and for which bold, creative, and messy solutions are typically required. The adjective 'wicked' describes the mischievous and even evil quality of these problems, where proposed solutions often turn out to be worse than the symptoms. This wide-ranging and innovative book encourages readers to think about archaeology in an entirely new way, as fresh, relevant, and future-oriented. It examines some of the novel ways that archaeology (alongside cultural heritage practice) can contribute to resolving some of the world's most wicked problems, or global challenges as they are sometimes known. With chapters covering climate change, environmental pollution, health and wellbeing, social injustice, and conflict, the book uses many and diverse examples to explain how, through studying the past and present through an archaeological lens, in ways that are creative, ambitious, and both inter- and transdisciplinary, significant 'small wins' can be achieved. Through these small wins, archaeologists can help to mitigate some of those most pressing of wicked problems, contributing therefore to a safer, healthier, and more stable world.
In a society where split-second decisions about the value of things are grounded on how they look, museum visitors are often drawn to visually striking or iconic objects. This book investigates the question of the treatment of items on display in museums which are less conspicuous but potentially just as important as the striking objects, arguing that it is important to show that all objects illustrate potentially interesting cultural contexts and content. The authors explore the disciplines of architecture, design, cognitive science and museology and offer a methodology by which the quality of museum exhibitions can be judged from a visitor-centred perspective. They provide new insights into the visitor-object encounter and the relationship between visitors, objects and museums. In addition the book offers a set of useful practical tools for museum professionals - for audience research, evaluating museum displays, and for designing new galleries and striking exhibitions. Richly illustrated with photos and diagrams, and based on studies of famous galleries in world-renowned museums, the book will be essential reading for all those concerned with creating effective exhibitions in museum.
