In this Book
- Sacred Darkness: A Global Perspective on the Ritual Use of Caves
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: University Press of Colorado
summary
Caves have been used in various ways across human society, but despite the persistence within popular culture of the iconic caveman, deep caves were never used primarily as habitation sites for early humans. Rather, in both ancient and contemporary contexts, caves have served primarily as ritual spaces. In Sacred Darkness, contributors use archaeological evidence as well as ethnographic studies of modern ritual practices to envision the cave as place of spiritual and ideological power that emerges as a potent venue for ritual practice.
Covering the ritual use of caves in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mesoamerica, and the US Southwest and Eastern woodlands, this book brings together case studies by prominent scholars whose research spans from the Paleolithic period to the present day. These contributions demonstrate that cave sites are as fruitful as surface contexts in promoting the understanding of both ancient and modern religious beliefs and practices.
This state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use will be one of the most valuable resources for understanding the role of caves in studies of religion, sacred landscape, or cosmology and a must-read for any archaeologist interested in caves.
Table of Contents
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- Note on Radiocarbon Dating
- pp. xvii-xx
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- Part I: Old World Ritual Cave Traditions
- Part II: New World Ritual Cave Traditions
- 10. Caves as Sacred Space in Mesoamerica
- pp. 151-170
- Part III: Case Studies in Ritual Cave Use
- 20. Ritual Cave Use in the Bahamas
- pp. 285-294
- Part IV: Ethnographic and Ethnohistoric Studies
- 24. Ritual Uses of Caves in West Malaysia
- pp. 331-342
- Part V: New Approaches
- Contributors
- pp. 397-398
Additional Information
ISBN
9781607321781
Related ISBN(s)
9781607321774, 9781607323600
MARC Record
OCLC
834144291
Pages
430
Launched on MUSE
2013-06-30
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2014