lal y Pow Sine ie Une of Cambrige “he Pes Belo Trompe See Cosi CHE TRF ‘ho sre Recs MY He Sh 1DSdmion Baad Oegh Metourne $ Aanrla cambridge Uni Pre Fin ped 185 Lin of mg Cag in aebnDts Pelee Kure? owen as Ale cua ‘sire. 5 Gomera Hoey addres sage” CRs ee Sioa ‘9h Lina Cain Peet os Steamaie topo Rav ete see Ck Contents Contributors Forevond by Nous Faris Prcface Put Toward an anthropology of things 1 Inerodaction’ commadies and the polis of valve ‘Arjen Appadires 2 The culeral biography of things: commodization ar peneee or Ref Part Exchange, consumption, and deplay 1S Tw Kinds ofvaie inthe Eastern Solomon Inds Wiliam Ht, Devonport, 4 Newcumers to the work of goods: consumption stnong the Moria Gonds Aid cell Part I Prestige, commemoration, and value 5 Varna and the emergence of weal in prebtric rope Cali Refice 6 Sacred commodities: the dreulaion of medieval ris Penick Geary age ot os 10 ma 160Comets Part 1V Production regimes and dhe sociology of demand 7 Weavers and deses: the authentic of an oriental carpet Brit Spomer 8 Que changes inthe preducion and consumpson of a _quasegalcommoday im nowtheatAisce. LV. Cason Part V_storical ranformations and commodity codes 9 The aracue ofa cultural ris: sinking about cloth in France before ad afer the Revouton Watney 10. The origins of awadeshi home indus): th and India society, 700-1980. CA Bob Idx 195 286 261 85 338 Contributors ARJUN APPADURAL is Associate Profesor of Antnopology and South Asan Stadiesathe Universe of Penman. He he author of Worship and Coc Under Cll Rade 1981. A. RAYLY i Fellow of St. Catharines Cllege, University af Carn bedi, and Smuts Reader in Cammerneaty Studies. He has pa the The Lac Rost of Indien Poti: Aaheed, 1880-1920 (1973) and Rules, Taonsnrn and Baws: Nev Ind Suclty he Ae of Bath Eapentin, 1790-1870 1988). LEE Vs CASSANELLI teaches i the Department of History atthe University of Pennsynani Heide author of The Shaping of Semel Savy: Reconarcing Be Hiya Pastore! Prple (1582) ‘WILLIAM M. DAVENPORT teaches anthropology atthe Univesity ‘of Pennsylvania, where heals Curator for Oceania the University Siateuo, He as dee field tesnrle Jumeien andthe Slomen| Islands and historical researcvonpre-CarGpean Hava and has pubs ‘shed extensively on sl these areas, PATRICK GEARY is Ausciate Profesor of History atthe University Of Fords. Heise author of Fata Scr: Theo Rls the Cova Maa gee 1998) amt crag Prone Th one Basin te ‘in of the Carga Age (1989) ‘ALIRED GEL teaches soil anthropology atthe London School of Eccnomic ard Pla cence He hear of Meuron of| he Csowaris: Una Sec, Language and ital (1973) cox Koryrorr of the Department of Andropology at dhe Uni versiy of Pennsylvania coer (with Suzanne Mies) of Savy in [free Hina and Anrep! Peete (1977) ad aor St Vere f Wehr The Saal Beanony of Sure! Powe (eran)CHAPTER Introduction: commodities and the politics of value ARJUN APPADURAL “This ey att sn. The St ito presiow and st the context {orth xa tht allow it in is oe Th oon to po ney perspective on he Gruen of commodies nscale Te git of a perapeive can be pte following vay. Economic Sechange cats value Vale f cobecied in commode tha ane ‘changed. Focssing onthe hing tha re exchanged rater than Simply om te Forms oe function of exchange, sakes pase to argue that what eestestheink between exchange nd sale a ol Conatucd broad This sequent wich i cobormed in the cx a thi enay, pte the conti tak commode, Me pesos Baer saline “Ceratodies can provisionally be defined a objets of economic sale. As to what ne ought fas by ceonomi valu, che mes etl ho nt gis ended gue aor Simmel In the rt ape of The Pino Mery LOU: Bogs wean, 19a Snel peste eptemai reve of ov cosmic vl nem y 9h Asin. Va for Smal never as ierem propery of objecs”° Sete judgment mace shout them by suet, Yee Ley tthe {mprebenion af vale according t Sin, is ns seyion where “that sabjecty only provisional nd acy no very esa (Sincel 19787) In exploring thi ithcuk rab, ich sai who subjcive sor ite sre mh ery nd fn Sel ‘uggs at objects are me fea ose bea hey re Eh eral ve ey male te acs ou foe to Ev thn 7 Wt Send ea cmon cs Opa 9, Sar exit inthe pcs between pat dessa aja 722% ‘ih some dance between them andthe pees who dente ther ‘hich dance tar an be verse: The ounce ovteome jin ord through sone chang, in whch te eof obec ctrmined reciprocally. That nc dearer an objid bye sarc some other ee, wich the fos of the dese oF another Such exchange of tenes i what canon fe4 Aen Appeden ‘ow and dhe econ a parle sci om consis no on in exchanging fue but inthe xtaag of vale (p80, Erno “ake fr Simmel generated by ths cot texas o sarees Sevrlargumens low thanalsiot economia Seas ata, erst comer abe no aloe n genera Sara definite sum of ae. wich ret fra ihe commensrsoon two tens of demand. The fon this cemssauraon takes Ike exchange af ctie and gai. Thus, tbe camomie objet doe nave abate tae aS rec of he demand for ut te ‘mand, atthe base of 3 veal origin’ exchange endows the object wi ale Te exchange Wat cu the psaers of ay| Sd scary, her athe cr ey round, ad exchange da iMesourer of ale “The dey ofan te seri ofered in eachange the unique coushatne men of valve, af hich [isn She era innit Form of quan”. 100, Ins word exchange nar byproit Of the mute aati of bf bu “These cere and rine sterrton the stage for Simmel snly of what be regarded at or complex natures forthe onda economic exchange money ~and te place m modern ie Sut Simmel suertons cn be taken in gute anther dict “This akereaive diecton whith exempted by he remainder of they, ema expoig the condos unde hs ecmome ‘he ele itteren gia of sarin space and tine. May he cayenne sti Seg ooops of ths evaye port eases lps a the man which dee [fed demand, recprocl tee and power ier reste co omic ae in Spe ool stuns “Goneporar Western common ce, bung on various i ‘ea eran pauper ence at 9 0 tendency o oppo word hed things” Phongh tr wac ax ateaye Cave even the Wes, 1 Maree Maus no i amos work {The the poeta conenporary tendency ho regu the wold of tings as ee and ue ce oto and ete, need \nowale ot by panon an he: war ese Dumont 180 280- 38a many histories, igs havent ben soared fram the exp of perenne power of words to tite oe Chace Thu sachs wow of thing amo di {ppeaedeven under de cndion of cidemal nd apes ine of the ivtons that underay ars famous dc, Capi of the "Yeshin of commode A bi Introduction: commode and the ple of value 5 rem our onn approach to things i conditioned necessity by the view dat things Rave o meanings apart fem those that maa teanszclon,atbuttne, and retro endo ther wth the an ‘thropologal problem i at tie formal eath docs not slants theeoncee, Historical cculsion of things For that we bavet fallow the things themselves fo thelr means aré nce in then ors, thor aut thei rajectries Les on through the analyse of these leayecories chat we can smterpret the human traction: ad ale Inions chat enven things. Ths. even though frm arta! poi fof view human scors encode things with significance from a th ‘bolagal pot of ew tthe thingein-teton tat Hina Oe human and socal contest No scat analyse of things (wheter the analyst isan econemat, an art historian, or an anthopoloy) can Sd a minions lve of what might be eaed methodological fe {ahi Tie methodologalFushise, turing our atenon the ‘ings themseves, isin prea covrecuve te the tendency w excel) ‘ecilogize transactions in things, a tendency we owe to Mats Firth has recent nod (1985:88)" ‘Ceewnodites, and dings in genera. are of independent inert to several tn of anthropology They conse te fat pringpies and thelastrsorofarhentogits They arethe stuf of materi alate” ‘which unter archeclogste wth several! inde of carl anthropel- ‘gts. As valtabls, they ere a the heart of econamie anthropology and, not leas 35 the medi of gifting, Wey are atthe heat of exchange iheory and socal anthropology generally. The commodey perspective on tugs reprearnts a sansse pom ot etry tothe se ‘ved, semindcally oriented ieret in material clare, rcenly te Inashed and exemplified in 3 special secon of ALN {ier 185) But commode are aot of fundamental interest oly to snthropa (gis. Thoy abo consttates topte of lively titres to tcl ad ‘onomic historians to art sora, and let we Forget o econo ‘nics, though each site might consuate the preter diferent Comoe thas represent she on which anthropology may have something to offer to sts nexghtoring dscpines, at wel one abou which thas a god dealt ean fem them The ecayein this volume cover much ston, ehnographi, and conceptual ground, but they do ao by any teas exh the rela tionship of eltare vo commoder The cantatas ae Bvt soc Anthrapologss, an archeologist and four socal Faortane. No eon ‘miss or re hstorians ae represented here, though ther ews are by no means ignored. Several major wovid ares see nox represented (Goutly China and Lain Ameria), bt the spatial coverage ie neve