The Art and Archaeology of Human Engagements with Birds of Prey
From Prehistory to the Present
- 264 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Art and Archaeology of Human Engagements with Birds of Prey
From Prehistory to the Present
About This Book
Of all avian groups, birds of prey in particular have long been a prominent subject of fascination in many human societies. This book demonstrates that the art and materiality of human engagements with raptors has been significant through deep time and across the world, from earliest prehistory to Indigenous thinking in the present day. Drawing on a wide range of global case studies and a plurality of complementary perspectives, it explores the varied and fluid dynamics between humans and birds of prey as evidenced in this diverse art-historical and archaeological record. From their depictions as powerful beings in visual art and their important roles in Indigenous mythologies, to the significance of their body parts as active agents in religious rituals, the intentional deposition of their faunal remains and the display of their preserved bodies in museums, there is no doubt that birds of prey have been figures of great import for the shaping of human society and culture. However, several of the chapters in this volume are particularly concerned with looking beyond the cultureânature dichotomy and human-centred accounts to explore perspectival and other post-humanist thinking on humanâraptor ontologies and epistemologies. The contributors recognize that humanâraptor relationships are not driven exclusively by human intentionality, and that when these species meet they relate-to and become-with one another. This 'raptor-with-human'-focused approach allows for a productive re-framing of questions about humanâraptor interstices, enables fresh thinking about established evidence and offers signposts for present and future intra-actions with birds of prey.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I The Materiality of Human Engagements with Birds of Prey
- 1 Raptors as Companions: Deep-Time Forays in Multispecies Archaeology
- 2 Gods, Kings and Offerings: Raptors in Ancient Egypt
- 3 Ghosthawk Worldings: Raptor Haruspicy during the North European Bronze Age
- Part II Visualizing Human Relations with Raptors
- 4 Golden Eagles: Raptor Imagery Biographies in Kazakhstan during the Early First Millennium bce
- 5 Visual Hybridity, Political Power and Cultural Contest: Kitan Liao (916â1125 CE) and Jurchen Jin (1115â1234 CE) Textiles with Falconry-Related Imagery
- 6 âThe Falcon-Cloak Whistledâ: Bird Fibulae, Falconry and Powerful Women in Seventh-Century Scandinavia
- Part III Posthumanist Ontologies of HumanâRaptor Relations
- 7 Relating to Raptors: The âupper part of a hawkâs head and beakâ in a Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age âBeakerâ Grave, Driffield, East Yorkshire
- 8 Raptors in Pre-Columbian North America: An Ontology of Art
- 9 Birds of Prey in Ancient Amazonia: Predation and Perspective in Ceramic Iconography
- 10 âNow I Am a Bird, and Now I Am a Manâ: Posthumanism, Raptors and the Rusâ
- Part IV Indigenous Knowledges of Birds of Prey
- 11 Birds of Prey, âOur Mothersâ and Women of Power: The âSpirit Bird of Nightâ Masquerade in YorĂšbĂĄ Art and Thought
- 12 PouÄkai: Rock Drawings of Haastâs Eagle or New Zealandâs Legendary Bird?
- 13 Ancestors, Messengers and âGood Countryâ: Birds of Prey, Rock Art and Indigenous Knowledge in the Kimberley, Northwest Australia
- Index
- Plates
- Copyright