Skip to content
Home/ Culture of Stone: Inka Perspectives on Rock
Culture of Stone: Inka Perspectives on Rock

Culture of Stone: Inka Perspectives on Rock

by Dean, Carolyn
No customer reviews yet ISBN 9780822348078 Duke University Press Books

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.

About the author

Product details

BrandDuke University Press Books
Pub dateOct 21, 2010
ISBN-100822348071
ISBN-139780822348078
Paperback320.0 pages
LanguageEnglish
Dimensions9.2 × 1 × 6 in
Weight1 lb
Last updated 2026-09-08 11:40
$36.64
In stock — ships in 24 hours with free tracking
Delivery by Monday, September 14, 2026
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from History - Prehistoric
See all
In the Footsteps of Popes: A Spirited Guide to the Treasures of the Vatican
Bruschini, Enrico
$12.86
Native Arts Of North America, Africa, And The South Pacific: An Introduction
Corbin, George A
$93.85
Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology
<em>Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology</em> invites readers to reconsider the contents and agendas of the art historical and world-culture canons by looking at one of their most historically enduring components: the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East. Ann Shafer, Amy Rebecca Gansell, and other top researchers in the field examine and critique the formation and historical transformation of the ancient Near Eastern canon of art, architecture, and material culture. Contributors flesh out the current boundaries of regional and typological sub-canons, analyze the technologies of canon production (such as museum practices and classroom pedagogies), and voice first-hand heritage perspectives. Each chapter, thereby, critically engages with the historiography behind our approach to the Near East and proposes alternative constructs. Collectively, the essays confront and critique the ancient Near Eastern canon's present configuration and re-imagine its future role in the canon of world art as a whole. <p/>This expansive collection of essays covers the Near East's many regions, eras, and types of visual and archaeological materials, offering specific and actionable proposals for its study. <em>Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology</em> stands as a vital benchmark and offers a collective path forward for the study and appreciation of Near Eastern cultural heritage. This book acts as a model for similar inquiries across global art historical and archaeological fields and disciplines.
$175.86
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Science, Engineering and Technology
Higgins, Michael Denis
$41.99
Images of the Ice Age
Bahn, Paul G
$49.62
What Is Paleolithic Art?: Cave Paintings and the Dawn of Human Creativity
Clottes, Jean
$25.71