A major contribution to both art history and Latin American studies; A Culture of Stone offers sophisticated new insights into Inka culture and the interpretation of non-Western art. Carolyn Dean focuses on rock outcrops masterfully integrated into Inka architecture; exquisitely worked masonry; and freestanding sacred rocks; explaining how certain stones took on lives of their own and played a vital role in the unfolding of Inka history. Examining the multiple uses of stone; she argues that the Inka understood building in stone as a way of ordering the chaos of unordered nature; converting untamed spaces into domesticated places; and laying claim to new territories. Dean contends that understanding what the rocks signified requires seeing them as the Inka saw them: as potentially animate; sentient; and sacred. Through careful analysis of Inka stonework; colonial-period accounts of the Inka; and contemporary ethnographic and folkloric studies of indigenous Andean culture; Dean reconstructs the relationships between stonework and other aspects of Inka life; including imperial expansion; worship; and agriculture. She also scrutinizes meanings imposed on Inka stone by the colonial Spanish and; later; by tourism and the tourist industry. A Culture of Stone is a compelling multidisciplinary argument for rethinking how we see and comprehend the Inka past.
#2953422 in eBooks 2013-09-26 2013-09-26File Name: B00EYRNRBO
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. As usual; Witolds writing style is part of the ...By John G. LynchAs usual; Witolds writing style is part of the value of this book. His insightful views on urban life and structure are invaluable.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. not a bad book.By HassanHis name is pronounced rib-chin-ski; and that is (sadly) about all I remember from my class that we used this book in.23 of 24 people found the following review helpful. InformativeBy Andrew McCaffreyThe back cover contains a quote from Wall Street Journal reviewer Roger Starr; stating that CITY LIFE by Witold Rybczynski is a "fascinating investigation of what cities - especially modern cities - should be like." This isnt strictly true. Its an investigation all right; but one more focused on what modern cities actually are and how they came to be that way; than a manifesto about the way things ought to be. A lot of history is covered; from brief mentions of the earlier dwellings of the Native Americans to the complexities inherent in our modern metropolises.The book focuses mostly upon the development of cities in the United States and Canada. European cities are occasionally mentioned and discussed; but only in how they compare to their North American cousins. Its a history of cities; which combines modern-day thoughts on their development as well as some historical comments from what the people of the time thought of how their cities were emerging. Rybczynski also manages to touch on the roles of commercialism; art; and the unique qualities of North America that have helped to define our cities. Cities did not spring fully-formed; nor were they all laid out at the same time; and the author takes time to explore how different approaches to city planning created vastly differing results. He compares the many different approaches; from the organized and structured to the evolving and improvised.The absolute biggest flaw with this text is that it is indeed just a text. Outside of the cover (featuring a sketching of a 19th Century street-scene and a poignant pre-9/11 photograph of the New York City skyline); there are no illustrations. No pictures; no diagrams; no maps; no charts; no blueprints; no photos -- nothing. Like Alice; I couldnt understand why someone would write a book such as this without including pictures. Rybczynski; therefore; spends far too much time describing city layouts; maps; street diagrams and other visual artifacts; leaving the reader without a pictorial aid. Photographs and maps are described rather than included. Its very frustrating. A picture is worth a thousand words; and in a book that is this heavily involved concerned with what things look like; some pictures would have been invaluable.Rybczynskis writing style is relatively engaging; though he does have an unfortunate tendency to lapse into dry lists of various items (usually one word mentions of various architects and city planners). This can be infrequently distracting; leading one to wonder if perhaps some of the information could have been conveyed in a more interesting way. Still; the history of cities as well as the philosophy behind their growth makes for fascinating subjects; so whatever faults may lie in the book; it is still well worth reading.