Agent of Change - by Barbara Roth & E Charles Adams (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawn from across the U.S. and Mesoamerica, the chapters in this volume explore the use, meanings, and cross-cultural patterns present in the use of ash. and highlight the importance of ash in ritual closure, social memory, and cultural transformation.

Book Synopsis

Ash is an important and yet understudied aspect of ritual deposition in the archaeological record of North America. Ash has been found in a wide variety of contexts across many regions and often it is associated with rare or unusual objects or in contexts that suggest its use in the transition or transformation of houses and ritual features. Drawn from across the U.S. and Mesoamerica, the chapters in this volume explore the use, meanings, and cross-cultural patterns present in the use of ash. and highlight the importance of ash in ritual closure, social memory, and cultural transformation.

Review Quotes

"This volume is an outstanding contribution to North American anthropology and archaeology, and an excellent starting point for research into related topics here and elsewhere...[It] is a fantastic resource for those investigating ash and all its related processes and concepts." - Anthropos

"The combination of solid methodology and sophisticated theory places the works in this volume within the broader movement of understanding social action and meaning in archaeology and provide a path researchers can follow in other areas as research in this area continues in the future." From the Afterword, Tammy Stone, University of Colorado, Denver

About the Author

E. Charles Adams is Emeritus Curator of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona. Prior to retiring in 2020, Adams taught in the School of Anthropology in addition to being museum curator for 35 years. Adams directed a 30-year research program in the ancestral Hopi villages of Homol'ovi in northeastern Arizona and has sole-authored or edited more than a dozen books/monographs describing this research.