Landscapes of Origin in the Americas: Creation Narratives Linking Ancient Places and Present Communities - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0817316736 ISBN 13: 9780817316730

Publisher: The University of Alabama Press, 2009

Synopsis

Landscape is a powerful factor in the operation of memory because of the associations narrators make between the local landscape and the events of the stories they tell. Ancestors and mythological events often become fixed in a specific landscape and act as timeless reference points. In conventional anthropological literature, 'landscape' is the term applied to the meaning local people bestow on their cultural and physical surroundings. In this work, the authors explore the cultural and physical landscapes an individual or cultural group has constructed to define the origins or beginnings of that cultural group as revealed through shared or traditional memory. The cultural landscapes of origins in diverse sites throughout the Americas are investigated through multidisciplinary research, not only to reveal the belief system and mythologies but also to place these origin beliefs in context and relationship to each other. In a continual interaction between the past, present, and future, time is subordinate to place, and history, as defined in Western academic terms, does not exist.

About this title

Review:

"The hemispheric scope of the contributions provides opportunities for comparative insights, and the range of approaches to the topic and typology makes the book of value to scholars across several fields."

--George E. Lankford, author of Looking for Lost Lore: Studies in Folklore, Ethnology, and Iconography and Reachable Stars: Patterns in the Ethnoastronomy of Eastern North America

"A good and timely collection focusing on creation narratives in the Americas."

--Ronald J. Mason, author of Inconstant Companions: Archaeology and North American Indian Oral Traditions

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." . . an illuminating, clearly organized book that contains insights of considerable value to folklorists. . . . Maps, diagrams, and photographs help the reader understand the complex landscapes, cultures, and eras that the authors describe. Since this book is likely to serve as a model for future studies, it is good that it includes such visual aids, especially for those of us who are not specialists in landscape studies. It will be exciting to see the impact of this excellent book upon future publications."-- Journal of Folklore Research

About the Author:

Jessica Joyce Christie is Associate Professor in the School of Art and Design, Leo Jenkins Fine Arts Center, East Carolina University.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of Alabama Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0817316736
• ISBN 13: 9780817316730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 280
• Editor: Jessica Joyce Christie