SOILS, STONES AND SYMBOLS: CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE MINERAL WORLD; ED. BY NICOLE BOIVIN

"Soils, Stones and Symbols highlights studies from the fields of anthropology, archaeology and philosophy that demonstrate that not all individuals and societies view minerals as commodities to be exploited for economic gain, or as passive objects of disembodied scientific enquiry. In visiting such diverse contexts as contemporary India, colonial-period Australia and prehistoric Europe and the Americas, the papers in this volume demonstrate that in pre-industrial societies, minerals are often symbolically meaningful, ritually powerful, and deeply interwoven into not just economic and material but also social, cosmological, mythical, spiritual and philosophical aspects of life."--Jacket.