More than a pretty face? Exploring the allure of obsidian valuables from Papua New Guinea
Author(s): Robin Torrence
Year: 2015
Summary
Brilliant, shiny, translucent, black. On the surface, everything made from obsidian is inherently attractive. So why are some obsidian artifacts more highly valued than others? Using the example of obsidian use in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, properties that go beyond physical attributes are explored as potential factors in the creation of valuables: e.g., exoticism; ownership of resources; social links; symbolism; performance; staged production; specialist makers.
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Cite this Record
More than a pretty face? Exploring the allure of obsidian valuables from Papua New Guinea. Robin Torrence. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 394992)
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Spatial Coverage
min long: 111.973; min lat: -52.052 ; max long: -87.715; max lat: 53.331 ;