The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic PDF Download

Author: Ralph Merrifield
Publisher: New Amsterdam Books
ISBN:
Category : Archaeology
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Ralph Merrifield systematically examines the evidence from prehistoric times to the present and demonstrates that all through the fundamental changes of belief--from primitive animism to Christianity to scientific rationalism--the same kinds of simple ritual have survived because they answer deep human needs.

Author: C. Riley Augé
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1800735049
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
By bringing together in one place specific objects, materials, and features indicating ritual, religious, or magical belief used by people around the world and through time, this tool will assist archaeologists in identifying evidence of belief-related behaviors and broadening their understanding of how those behaviors may also be seen through less obvious evidential lines. Instruction and templates for recording, typologizing, classifying, and analyzing ritual or magico-religious material culture are also provided to guide researchers in the survey, collection, and cataloging processes. The bulleted formatting and topical range make this a highly accessible work, while providing an incredible wealth of information in a single volume.

Author: Evangelos Kyriakidis
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
ISBN: 1938770390
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
A wide spectrum of scholars, historians, art historians, anthropologists, students of performance, students of religion, archaeologists, cognitive scientists, and linguists were all asked to think and comment on how ritual can be traced in archaeology and which ways ritual research can go in that discipline. The product is a fairly accurate representation of research on ritual and the archaeology of ritual: scholars from various disciplines, backgrounds and agendas, arguing mostly in the most logical fashion, yet with little agreement between them. So this book should not be seen as presenting one unified attitude towards ritual and its study in archaeology. It should rather be seen as a reflection of what the discourse in the archaeology of ritual is today. The outcome has been extremely thought-provoking, often controversial, but always of extremely high quality.

Author: Andrew Wilburn
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472117793
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
Materia Magica approaches magic as a material endeavor, in which spoken spells, ritual actions, and physical objects all played vital roles in the performance of a rite. Through case studies drawing on objects excavated or discovered in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century at three Mediterranean sites, Andrew T. Wilburn identifies previously unknown forms of magic. He discovers evidence of the practice of magic in objects of ancient daily life, suggesting that individuals frequently turned to magic, particularly in times of crises. Studying the remains of spells enacted by practitioners, Wilburn examines the material remains of magical practice by identifying and placing them within their archaeological contexts. His method of connecting an analysis of the texts and inscriptions found on artifacts of magic with a close consideration of the physical form of these objects illuminates an exciting path toward new discoveries in the field.

Author: Natalie Armitage
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1785700138
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
The subject of ‘magic’ has long been considered peripheral and sensationalist, the word itself having become something of an academic taboo. However, beliefs in magic and the rituals that surround them are extensive – as are their material manifestations – and to avoid them is to ignore a prevalent aspect of cultures worldwide, from prehistory to the present day. The Materiality of Magic addresses the value of the material record as a resource in investigations into magic, ritual practices, and popular beliefs. The chronological and geographic focuses of the papers presented here vary from prehistory to the present-day, including numinous interpretations of fossils and ritual deposits in Bronze Age Europe; apotropaic devices in Roman and Medieval Britain; the evolution of superstitions and ritual customs – from the ‘voodoo doll’ of Europe and Africa to a Scottish ‘wishing-tree’; and an exploration of spatiality in West African healing practices. The objectives of this collection of nine papers are twofold. First, to provide a platform from which to showcase innovative research and theoretical approaches in a subject which has largely been neglected within archaeology and related disciplines, and, secondly, to redress this neglect. The papers were presented at the 2012 Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conference in Liverpool.

Author: Brian Hoggard
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 178920206X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture. “Diving into Brian Hoggard’s Magical House Protection is a remarkable experience... [It] provides an immersive and fascinating read.”—Fortean Times People created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Detailed are the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day. Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks and concealed shoes were all used widely as methods of repelling, diverting or trapping negative energies. Many of these practices and symbols can be found around the globe, demonstrating the universal nature of efforts by people to protect themselves from witchcraft. From the introduction: The most popular locations to conceal objects within buildings are usually at portals such as the hearth, the threshold and also voids or dead spaces. This suggests that people believed it was possible for dark forces to travel through the landscape and attack them in their homes. Whether these forces were emanations from a witch in the form of a spell, a witch’s familiar pestering their property, an actual witch flying in spirit or a combination of all of those is difficult to tell. Additional sources of danger could be ghosts, fairies and demons. People went to great lengths to ensure their homes and property were protected, highlighting the fact that these beliefs and fears were visceral and, as far as they were concerned, literally terrifying.

Author: Mary Bouquet
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 9781571815200
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Exploring the idea of the museum as a ritual site, this volume looks at contemporary experience across Europe and Africa to reveal the different ways in which various actors involved in cultural production dramatize and ritualize such places

Author: Ronald Hutton
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137444827
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
This volume investigates the physical evidence for magic in medieval and modern Britain, including ritual mark, concealed objects, amulets, and magical equipment. The contributors are the current experts in each area of the subject, and show between them how ample the evidence is and how important it is for an understanding of history.

Author: Ralph Merrifield
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Describes archaeological finds in the London area and their importance in reconstructing the history of the area from the first appearance of man to the seventh century A.D.

Author: Adam Parker
Publisher:
ISBN: 1785708821
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
This second volume in the new TRAC Themes in Roman Archaeology series seeks to push the research agendas of materiality and lived experience further into the study of Roman magic, a field that has, until recently, lacked object-focused analysis. Building on the pioneering studies in Boschung and Bremmer's (2015) Materiality of Magic, the editors of the present volume have collected contributions that showcase the value of richly-detailed, context-specific explorations of the magical practices of the Roman world. By concentrating primarily on the Imperial period and the western provinces, the various contributions demonstrate very clearly the exceptional range of influences and possibilities open to individuals who sought to use magical rituals to affect their lives in these specific contexts – something that would have been largely impossible in earlier periods of antiquity. Contributions are presented from a range of museum professionals, commercial archaeologists, university academics and postgraduate students, making a compelling case for strengthening lines of communication between these related areas of expertise.