The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age
The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age. The peoples of the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age (AD 600/800-1492) were in contact through intensive and extensive exchange networks. This article takes a close look at the social mechanism behind...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2011-12-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/11834 |
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| author | Angus A. A. Mol |
| author_facet | Angus A. A. Mol |
| author_sort | Angus A. A. Mol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age. The peoples of the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age (AD 600/800-1492) were in contact through intensive and extensive exchange networks. This article takes a close look at the social mechanism behind one of these networks, which consists of face-depicting shell discs or cones. This is done from a gift-theoretical framework that focuses on aspects of alienability/inalienability of these shell faces in a specifically Caribbean setting. These artefacts are characterized from the indigenous concept of guaízas – « faces of the living » – as understood from ethnohistoric sources. After treating their iconography and giving an overview of their archaeological and socio-cultural contexts the discussion will focus on alienable and inalienable qualities of these artefacts. Finally, « shell faces as guaízas » will be used in an argument in which they figure as social valuables that are used to control extra-communal Others. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-941cdf6ca05b4fd88e49f98e8926bab3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-12-01 |
| publisher | Société des américanistes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
| spelling | doaj-art-941cdf6ca05b4fd88e49f98e8926bab32025-02-05T15:54:57ZengSociété des américanistesJournal de la Société des Américanistes0037-91741957-78422011-12-0197274310.4000/jsa.11834The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic AgeAngus A. A. MolThe Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age. The peoples of the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age (AD 600/800-1492) were in contact through intensive and extensive exchange networks. This article takes a close look at the social mechanism behind one of these networks, which consists of face-depicting shell discs or cones. This is done from a gift-theoretical framework that focuses on aspects of alienability/inalienability of these shell faces in a specifically Caribbean setting. These artefacts are characterized from the indigenous concept of guaízas – « faces of the living » – as understood from ethnohistoric sources. After treating their iconography and giving an overview of their archaeological and socio-cultural contexts the discussion will focus on alienable and inalienable qualities of these artefacts. Finally, « shell faces as guaízas » will be used in an argument in which they figure as social valuables that are used to control extra-communal Others.https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/11834gift exchangesocial valuablesinalienabilityguaíza |
| spellingShingle | Angus A. A. Mol The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age Journal de la Société des Américanistes gift exchange social valuables inalienability guaíza |
| title | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age |
| title_full | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age |
| title_fullStr | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age |
| title_short | The Gift of the « Face of the Living »: Shell faces as social valuables in the Caribbean Late Ceramic Age |
| title_sort | gift of the face of the living shell faces as social valuables in the caribbean late ceramic age |
| topic | gift exchange social valuables inalienability guaíza |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/11834 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT angusaamol thegiftofthefaceofthelivingshellfacesassocialvaluablesinthecaribbeanlateceramicage AT angusaamol giftofthefaceofthelivingshellfacesassocialvaluablesinthecaribbeanlateceramicage |