Howard Morphy Knihy

Exploring the role of museums in curating collections for an infinite future, this book delves into the responsibilities surrounding repatriation and the importance of digital access. It engages with complex discussions on how museums can navigate these challenges while fostering a culture of protocols that ensures ethical stewardship and inclusivity in the presentation of their collections.

The evolution of Australian Aboriginal art from a marginal footnote to a significant contemporary movement is explored in this insightful analysis. The book examines the changing cultural and social contexts that influence the creation of Aboriginal art, highlighting its deep cultural connections and contemporary relevance. Through this lens, it sheds light on the complexities and transformations within the art form, offering a fresh perspective on its significance in the global art landscape.

This text brings together a collection of essays by leading anthropologists, covering an entire range of visual representation and including discussions on the anthropology of art, the study of landscape, and the history of anthropology.

For thousands of years, Australian Aborigines have been making art. A manifestation of the creative forces of Dreamtime, art is also a fundamental means of expressing individual and group identity. Howard Morphy surveys the great variety in Aboriginal art, showing the inter-relationships between such diverse art forms as body painting, dance, the decoration of weapons and utensils, and painting on bark and canvas.

Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) never completed his Doctoral thesis on prayer. Yet his scarcely mentioned introduction (Books I and II) of 176 pages and privately printed in 1909, can be seen as some of his most important work. His argument that much of prayer is a social act will be of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and theologians. Here, the first English translation to be published, is preceded by a general introduction by W.S.F.Pickering and finally a specific commentary on Mauss's use of ethnographic material.