Humans, Animals, and the Craft of Slaughter in Archaeo Historic - Societie

This book conceptualizes butchery as an expression of technological knowledge and culture embedded in action, defining the human-animal relationship.

List of contents

Part I. Butchery as Craft and Social Praxis: 1. Animal bodies, human technology; 2. Conceptualising 'butchery'; 3. Thinking practically; 4. Craft, practice, and social boundaries; 5. Intellectualizing practice: bridging analogy and technology; 6. The materiality of butchery; Part II. The Butchers' Practice in Archaeo-Historic Societies: 7. Studying cut marks in historic archaeological contexts; 8. Problematising butchery studies; 9. Harnessing the power of the cut mark record; 10. Humans, animals, and the butchers' craft in Roman and medieval Britain; 11. Connecting complex butchering to complexity in society; 12. Beyond butchery.

About the author

Krish Seetah is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. He brings vocational experience as a professional butcher to his research on environmental archaeology, especially human-animal interactions, and the ecological consequences of colonialism.  He is the author of Bones for Tools – Tools for Bones: The Interplay Between Objects and Objectives (2012) and Connecting Continents: Archaeology and History in the Indian Ocean (forthcoming).

Summary

Situating the relationship between practice, practitioner, and commodity resonates with the large body of scholars interested in food production, assembly, consumption, and the craft of cuisine. The book uses butchery as a point of departure for discussing the changing historical relationships with animal utility, symbolism, and meat consumption.

Product details

• Authors: Krish Seetah, Krish (Stanford University Seetah, Seetah Krish
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2018
• EAN: 9781108428804
• ISBN: 978-1-108-42880-4
• No. of pages: 276
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity; Social sciences, law, business > Business > Individual industrial sectors, branches; NATURE / Animals / Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures, prehistory, Zoology & animal sciences, Archaeology by period / region, Prehistoric archaeology, Zoology and animal sciences