Description
Book SynopsisBased on a Wenner-Gren international workshop, held at the Royal Ontario Museum, this book addresses the complexity of human-mineral engagements through ethnographic case studies and anthropological reflections on different people and the minerals they deem precious.'
Trade Review"Collectively, the processes of mineral valuation and circulation of precious minerals illustrate that ‘preciousness’ should be defined relative to complex and dynamic cultural, political-economic, and semiotic value systems. Compelling, thoughtful analyses of affect and materiality." -- C. C. Kolb, independent scholar *
CHOICE *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Engaging Precious Minerals Andrew Walsh, Elizabeth Ferry, and Annabel Vallard Part One: Engaging Mineral Sources Introduction to Part One: Scrappers, Miners, and Hunters Susan D. Gillespie 1. "Check Out That Gold-Plated Board!" Scrapping Cellphones and Electronics in North America Joshua A. Bell 2. What Is "Artisanal" about "Artisanal Mining"? Reflections from Madagascar’s Sapphire Trade Andrew Walsh 3. The Value and Social Lives of Alpine Crystals Gilles Raveneau Part Two: Mineral Connections Introduction to Part Two: Making Preciousness: Distinction and Refraction Elizabeth Ferry 4. When Stones Become Gems: Valuations of Minerals in Thailand Annabel Vallard 5. Transparent Minerals and Opaque Diamond Sources Filipe Calvão 6. Gold, Ontological Difference, and Object Agency Les W. Field Afterword: Facets of Preciousness Andrew Walsh, Elizabeth Ferry, and Annabel Vallard Contributors Index
