This book of classic scope is a monograph of a Melanesian society, an exploration of ranked exchange and a bold critique of anthropological exchange theory. John Liep unravels the complex society and exchange system on Rossel Island east of New Guinea. At centre stage is the famous 'Rossel Island money', a hierarchy of more than twenty classes of sea shells displayed in payment rituals such as bridewealth and pig feasts. High-ranking shells are monopolised by big men who control exchange and dominate social life on the island. Theories of reciprocity and gift exchange with their built in utopian assumption of social equality, Liep finds, cannot account for a system of ranked exchange. Instead, exchange is unequal and money an instrument of distinction and power. Liep argues that ranked exchange has remained undiscovered as a general phenomenon. Still found in some Pacific societies it was formerly widespread in Oceania and beyond. The book will be essential to students of indigenous currencies and exchange theory and of interest to economic anthropologists and Oceanists.

These two volumes present a new and comprehensive theory concerning the manner in which landscapes in Western pictorial art may be interpreted in relation to the cultures that created them. Its point of departure is a hitherto unexplored developmental pattern that characterises landscape representation from Palaeolithic cave paintings through to 19th-century modernity. A structuralist comparison between this pattern and three additional fields of analysis -- self-consciousness, socially-determined perception of nature, and world picture -- reveals a fascinating insight into culture's macrohistorical organisation. Controversially, this book argues that culture at a certain level of observation is marked by directional evolution. In Volume I the author traces the pictorial depth of field from its Palaeolithic beginnings, in which only separate bodies are portrayed, and on to antiquity and the Middle Ages with their quasi-perspectival vistas. This gradual accentuation of a viewpoint is interpreted as a sign of how self-consciousness -- the notion of an T detached from nature -- develops. Similarly, the raw rocky terrain and vividly coloured skies that are introduced in ancient and medieval landscape images are taken as a testimony of how cosmos splits into a chaotic Mother Earth and an indestructible masculine heaven. Finally, Volume I demonstrates that the ancient landscape images' exclusion of traces of cultivation (e.g. fields, roads, hedges, fences) is the result of work-shyness, a longing for the Golden Age, among the powers-that-be. The topic of Volume II is the breakthrough of the modern landscape image and its new perspectival vistas, transient time and cultivated - or completely deserted - terrains. This post-medieval paradigm shift is construed as the mature stage in the evolution of self-consciousness, with an urban individual contemplating nature at an aesthetic distance. Apart from being structurally equivalent with the new Copernican cosmos and the colonial expansion of Western culture, the new territorial landscape image is shown to develop in close interaction with the early modern work ethic, republicanism and capitalism. It is also demonstrated that this landscape image is at odds with the idealising Italian Renaissance vision, a conflict condensed in the imagery of strangely artificial rock formations.

The experience economy is a fourth economic field, different from commodities, goods and services. Experiences are an economic value that is added to a product or identical with a product. When you buy an experience, you pay to spend time enjoying a series of memorable events that a company stages to engage a customer in a personal way. Fuelled by an expanding global and digital economy, the experience dimension has moved into a predominant place since the 1990s. In developed countries, people haw become richer and more individual-ised, and with all their basic material needs being met they focus increasingly on personal development and self-realisation. Demand is increasing for experience-based products such as tourism and sports, as well as film, music and other contents of media and interactive technologies. Furthermore, the demand for experience values has extended to include any product or dimension of modern societies, such as the design of houses, furniture, clothes, cars, computers, etc. This is not a completely new story -- commercial entertainment and design have, after all, been around for a century or so, and the un-it values of love, sex, belief, family and the meaning of life have always been vital to human beings. What is new is the fact that capitalism is invading more and more fields of experiences connected with emotions and the extension of life. In all developed countries, and increasingly on a global scale, a series of expanding industries has to supply the market with experience-oriented goods. In this book, the business development of markets and industries is examined: from tourism, to media and entertainment, from design to sex, and the leading companies and trends in all the industries involved are also given consideration.

Text in German. Grauballe Man was about 34 years old when he met his death. He died from a deep cut to the throat. His right shinbone was also fractured. He undoubtedly suffered a violent end -- he was executed -- and was then laid naked in a water-filled peat cutting in the bog. The ultimate sacrifice was made that day around 290 BC -- a human life -- to the supernatural powers or in the service of some other urgent cause. Few finds from Denmark's prehistory enjoy the attention and interest afforded by the public and the media to Grauballe Man, who is exhibited at Moesgaard Museum, south of Aarhus, Denmark. With this book in hand it is not difficult to imagine a person of flesh and blood who wandered around during the first centuries of the Iron Age, long before Caesar was born. Archaeologist Pauline Asingh of Moesgaard Museum presents the very latest discoveries about Grauballe Man, his life, his afterlife, his bog and the interpretation of him and his time. In telling his story she brings prehistory dramatically to life.

Meetings of cultures arouse strong feelings. In this volume, nineteen scholars from Denmark, France, Georgia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, and Ukraine present a profound discussion covering various topics from the physical arena of the colonial encounters, to the layout of land and protection of cities, to the dynamics of the cultural exchange, to the perception of how it was to be Greek in the Pontic realm, and finally, to be reciprocal strategies exerted by the Greeks and Scythians in the Olbia as described in Herodotos's Skythian Tale. Through the many-sided contributions it is revealed how the self and the other are two sides of the same coin - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Mithridates VI Eupator, the last king of Pontos, was undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in the late Hellenistic period. Throughout his long reign (120-63 BC), the political and cultural landscape of Asia Minor and the Black Sea area was reshaped along new lines. The authors present new archaeological research and new interpretations of various aspects of Pontic society and its contacts with the Greek world and its eastern neighbours and investigate the background for the expansion of the Pontic Kingdom that eventually led to the confrontation with Rome.

As indicated by the title, this volume focuses on an area of conflict that became decisive for the development of Christianity, i.e. which group of texts should be regarded as normative for the preaching of the Christian faith, and how these texts should be interpreted. Several centuries were to pass however before there was consensus in the Church on this matter. There were no foregone conclusions and a great number of disputes aros

Political and economic developments after the implosion of the Sovjet Union have not been easy, nor have outcomes been similar. In this book the different trajectories of political development in post-communist countries are traced through cases from within the post-communist region that exhibit maximum variation in terms of both background variables and outcome. Six countries -- Kazakhstan, Geogia, Estonia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland -- have been selected. Following the Tocquevillian tradition, a 'method' of indirect comparison where in-depth knowledge of a country based on linguistics and history is held up against existing concepts, six country specialists have drawn broad pictures of what characterises 'their' country in terms of political and economic reform, state building and nation building, at the same time placing developments within the international context. The book argues that the elite constellation along two dimensions -- consensus about the direction of policy and institutions, and the extent of inclusion of elite interests in decision making -- is specific to each country and points to the direction of future developments.

The Bible has been called the 'Book of Books'. In Western culture it is considered a literary work and it has a central role in both the Jewish and Christian religions. The Bible has inspired writing and has also provoked contradiction. It has not only had a normative function for future poets, but philosophers and scien-tists have also applied biblical motives and have struggled with biblical ideas to formulate new thoughts. Drawing on examples from the works of Torgny Lindgren, Philip Pullman, Milan Kundera and Martin A Hansen, the first part of this volume begins be examining the reception and transforma-tion of the Bible in literature. Then, using examples from Søren Kierkegaard, K E Løgstrup and Paul Ricoeur, the second part goes on to explore the reception and transformation of the Bible in philosophy, considering also its reception within evolutionary theory. The third and last part, deals with the Bible's reception and transformation in religious communities, and considers, inter alia: the role of the Torah in Judaism -- both as text and as arte-fact; and, the Bible, as a model for Christian ideas, as a challenge to scriptural performance and as a norm for the images of God in modern hymns. All three sections of the book are introduced by some general reflections offering a framework for the individual articles. The Book of Books is still a work that inspires new thoughts. The aim of this book is thus to challenge and provoke readers to further discussion on the authority of the Bible.

The relationship between religion, politics, and law represents, one of the most important issues in contemporary discussions on the world's future. While global changes and political conflicts in many parts of the world demand serious reflection about the role of religion in politics and in public discourse, the study of religion in post-secular societies calls for reflections about the normative role of religion in politics and law. Through the contributions of scholars in the disciplines of theology, the science of religion, and political science, this volume presents an absorbing analysis of democracy, politics, and law, drawing upon the works of John Rawls, Jfirgen Haberman, Max Horkheimer, Michel Foucault and Theodor W Adorno. Such topics as Islam and democracy are addressed, in addition to the report by the European Council on Fatwa and Research and specific issues in which churches have been involved in political conflicts. Case studies on communism, nazism, and apartheid, for example, are also presented, and finally the question is addressed of how inter-religious dialogue can function in secular societies in relation to the Danish cartoon crisis.

Hegel's influence on post-Hegelian philosophy is as profound as it is ambiguous. Modern philosophy is philosophy after Hegel. Taking leave of Hegel's system appears to be a common feature of modern and post-modern thought. One could even argue that giving up Hegel's claim of totality defines philosophy after Hegel. Modern and post-modern philosophies are philosophies of fini-tude: Hegel's philosophy cannot be repeated. However, its status as a negative backdrop for modern and post-modern thought already shows its pervasive influence. Precisely in its criticism of Hegel, modern thought is bound up with his thinking. - Arne Gron (from the Introduction)

Drug policy has spread into new areas of society and new players are now engaged in this policy. This leads to the question: How can we understand and explain the increasingly complex puzzle that we call drug policy? A very wide range of drug policies are implemented in contemporary societies - not only by governments, but also by local communities, organisations, public institutions, private enterprises, sports clubs etc. , with consequences for drug users, citizens and society in general. In this book, anthropologists, criminologists and sociologists analyse different aspects of drug policy, seeing it as a way of regulation drugs - including control, treatment, prevention and harm reduction. Using examples from both Denmark and the USA, the authors' approach is to focus in particular on the history and consequences of drug policy in practice. The topic is analysed on an international, national as well as local level. The book will be of great value to advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in drug policy, as well as to academics, practitioners and policy makers in the drug field.

Abraham's intention to sacrifice his son on God's command symbolises the violent potential of authoritarian religion. The contemporary resurgence of radically 'conservative' and 'fundamentalist' religion raises the question whether this kind of God-relation is compatible with a commitment to liberal democracy. In this timely and original book, Troels Nager provides an answer by integrating insights from philosophy of religion and political philosophy. In Part One, Nager surveys the interpretive history of Genesis 22, focusing in particular on Kierkegaard's ingenious attempt to save Abraham and his unquestioning faith. In Part Two, drawing on eminent thinkers like Rawls and Habermas, Nager argues that while religion can be accorded an important role in the public square, each religion and each believer must learn to appreciate that in a pluralist society 'the political' (government, legal system, and public administration) is neutral towards religion and ultimately guided by 'secular' reason. Taking Leave of Abraham is a call to embrace our post-secular modernity without surrendering to the demands of authoritarian religion.

Text in English & Spanish. This book is the third and last in a series of three focusing on the deplorable development in the Ceja de Selva from Rodriguez de Mendoza to Soritor (Moyobamba). The interdisciplinary research at the regional level has shown how the natural and cultural landscape has changed dramatically over time, depending on the people, crops, and markets present. The forest with its biological diversity is disappearing fast along with the cultural remains from pre-hispanic times. Archaeological, ethnohistorical, anthropological, botanical and geographical investigations present a status quo on the landscape changes and many of the problems the migrating colonos face in their new environment. The book is also a reminder for the regional and national governments to take serious measures before the fragile landscape of the Ceja de Selva has lost its unique characteristics. Text in Spanish and English.

Iron Age Households - Structure & Practice in Western Denmark, 500 BC-AD 200

Is the body a mere container of learning processes? Or can we, in a productive way, develop an approach to learning that includes learning as a bodily phenomenon? The authors all work with the development or refinement of theories of 'learning bodies', and in this anthology they present the state of the art to anybody with an interest in current scientific discussions about the interplay between body, movement and learning. A full understanding of learning in all its complexity requires that the body is taken into account - regardless of whether we are dealing with the neurological foundations of learning processes, skill acquisition, mental health and illness, aesthetics or the physical setting where the learning takes place. Body, movement and senses (in short: corporeality), provide the necessary experiences for change and development in relation to life-long learning. This anthology presents a range of theoretical approaches to learning; neuroscience, psychiatry, sociology, psychology, phenomenology and pedagogy. By presenting this range of approaches, the anthology raises a central question in the philosophy of science: the need for incorporation of different approaches to achieve further insights. The first section of the book, The learning body, concerns the learning process from a psychological, neuroscience and phenomenological point of view. In part two, The encultured body, gender and aesthetics will be analysed in relation to the body and the community of practice. The third section, The educated body, sheds light on various aspects of the body in educational contexts and different body-related conditions for learning. The anthology is of particular interest to researchers and students of education, development and psychology, and to those interested in body and movement, both biomedical and the relation to social science and the humanities.