The Materiality of Stone: Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology

This book investigates the sensuous material qualities of stone--from golden honeycombed limestone, to frozen waves of Cambrian sandstone. Tactile sensations, sonorous qualities, color, and visual impressions are all shown to play a previously unrecognized yet vital part in understanding the power of prehistoric monuments, from Neolithic temples to Bronze Age rock carvings, in relation to their landscapes. Tilley breaks new ground in interpreting human experience in a sensuous way, rather than through an abstract analytical gaze. He leaves no stone unturned as he also considers how spaces and settings are interpreted in relation to artifacts and places that were deeply meaningful to the people who inhabited them and remain no less evocative today. In its innovative approach to understanding human experience, The Materiality of Stone is a major contribution to the field of material culture studies and the study of prehistory.

Christopher Tilley is Professor of Anthropology, University College London, and author of several books, including A Phenomenology of Landscape.