We may not realize it, but truth and place are inextricably linked. For ancient Greeks, temples and statues clustered on the side of Mount Parnassus affirmed their belief that predictions from the oracle at Delphi were accurate. The trust we have in...

What does ­it mean to live and die in relation to other animals?   "Animal Intimacies" posits this central question alongside the intimate – and intense – moments of care, kinship, violence, politics, indifference, and desire that occur between human...

"It is the contemporary elixir from which all manner of being emerges, the metamorphic sublime, an alchemist's dream". So begins "Palma Africana", the latest attempt by anthropologist Michael Taussig to make sense of the contemporary moment. But to w...

For the Ankave of Papua New Guinea, men, unlike women, do not reach adulthood and become fathers simply by growing up and reproducing. What fathers – and by extension, men – actually are is a result of a series of relational transformations, operated...

Taking an approach that is equal parts anthropological and art historical, this lavishly illustrated volume offers a rare look at the art, artifacts, and culture of the Naga people, an ethnic group spanning several tribes native to northeastern India...

"The Passion Book" is the most famous work of erotica in the vast literature of Tibetan Buddhism, written by the legendary scholar and poet Gendun Chopel (1903-1951). Soon after arriving in India in 1934, he discovered the "Kama Sutra". Realizing tha...

Anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson were pioneers in using visual anthropological techniques to study the aesthetics of bodily motion in Bali. What is less well known is that they also collected textiles, paintings, puppets, and carving...

In 1911, the publication of Franz Boas's "The Mind of Primitive Man" challenged widely held claims about race and intelligence that justified violence and inequality. Now, a group of leading scholars examines how this groundbreaking work hinged on re...

How are we to explain the resurgence of customary chiefs in contemporary Africa? Rather than disappearing with the tide of modernity, as many expected, indigenous sovereigns are instead a rising force, often wielding substantial power and legitimacy...

In this thought-provoking book, preeminent scholar Stephen Houston turns his attention to the crucial role of young males in Classic Maya society, drawing on evidence from art, writing, and material culture. "The Gifted Passage" establishes that adol...