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    The Anthropology of Precious Minerals

    Elizabeth Ferry (Edited by), Annabel Vallard (Edited by), Andrew Walsh (Edited by)

    9781487503178

    Hardback, published 6 December 2019

    216 pages
    23.1 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm, 0.46 kg

    "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)

    Why do people single out gold, sapphires, diamonds, and other minerals as particularly "precious"? What makes precious minerals "precious"? Drawing from ethnographic and cross-cultural research, this collection of anthropological essays and case studies answers these questions by exploring humans’ multifaceted relationships with the minerals they deem "precious."

    The Anthropology of Precious Minerals addresses the entanglement of humans and minerals, with a particular focus on the practices of scrappers, miners, and hunters as they work to extract value. The editors draw from history, archaeology, and ethnography, and remind us that "preciousness" must always be understood in relation to complex cultural, political-economic, and semiotic systems of value.

    Acknowledgments

    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
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