The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion (Oxford Handbooks) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019923244X ISBN 13: 9780199232444

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion provides a comprehensive overview by period and region of the relevant archaeological material in relation to theory, methodology, definition, and practice. Although, as the title indicates, the focus is upon archaeological investigations of ritual and religion, by necessity ideas and evidence from other disciplines are also included, among them anthropology, ethnography, religious studies, and history. The Handbook covers a global span - Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the Americas - and reaches from the earliest prehistory (the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic) to modern times. In addition, chapters focus upon relevant themes, ranging from landscape to death, from taboo to water, from gender to rites of passage, from ritual to fasting and feasting. Written by over sixty specialists, renowned in their respective fields, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will serve both as a comprehensive introduction to its subject and as a stimulus to further research.

About this title

About the Author:

Timothy Insoll is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Manchester.

Review:

"Editor Insoll has certainly been thorough in compiling this massive tome on the state of research on ritual and religion in archaeology...Sophisticated in method and theory."--CHOICE

"Whether this volume is approached as an encyclopedic compendium, a casual read to be dipped into from time to time, an archaeological treasure trove, or even as a challenge to some belief system, it is most assuredly an intellectual feast.... This is a truly impressive work of scholarship that will have a very long shelf life."--Thomas E. Emerson, American Journal of Archaeology

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 019923244X
• ISBN 13: 9780199232444
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1108
• Editor: Insoll Timothy