Chris Buckley
@chrisbuckley
Anthropologist with interests in cultural evolution, phylogenetics, classical methods, weaving. Interface of archaeology and ethnography. Author of "Stone and Fiber: Daily life in the Baliem valley, Papua".
The Hampton Archive of Baliem valley ethnographic material has arrived back in Papua, 40 years after it left, to a small celebration. Now in its temporary home at the Museum Lokabudaya. Looks intact. Whew!
Edge-ground stone tools and other interesting features, not associated with agriculture, appeared in Japan around 36kya
V&A East Storehouse. Well worth a visit. Some views are a modern version of Piranesi’s “Carceri”
In ye olden days scholars were more, er, forthright on each other’s works. This is Soame Jenyns on Edward Morse’s book on Japanese pottery
Wow. Ian McNiven has written a review of "Stone and Fiber". Longest review I ever read. (Mostly) complimentary too! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
we published this in English. We hope to publish in Indonesian later
Conserved, catalogued, photographed, re-housed ... after 5 years work a major ethnographic collection (the Hampton Archive) is on its way back to Papua, where it will form the nucleus of a new museum ...
Classifying things isn't the same as understanding them, but it's a necessary first step. In this book chapter I establish a classification for cultural phenomena, and apply it to some southeast Asian traditions ... www.researchgate.net/publication/...
New book chapter ... "The Anatomy of a Tradition". Compares notions of tradition, innovation, lineage, fashion in two different fields: Tibetan Buddhism and rural weaving in southeast Asia, discusses why they are similar, and why this is so ... www.researchgate.net/publication/...
For those in the Bay Area ... Serena Lee and I will be doing an introduction to weaving in southwest China and southeast Asia at the Asian Art Museum in SF. We will try to make sense of this most complicated region in Asia and its rich traditions ... www.societyforasianart.org/program/text...
Detail of an old silk khata (offering cloth), woven in China for the Tibetan market. 18th century. Photographed in glancing light to catch the damask pattern
Differing views: in western museums (eg Pitt Rivers in Oxford) shrunken heads have mostly been removed from public view. In Ecuador, their country of origin, the Museo Pumapungo in Cuenca has a gallery devoted to their display. It is a big hit with Ecuadorean schoolkids (I could barely get near it)
... a couple of patterned wool belts, and a detail of one of her ponchos. 3/3
... , which is odd because it has beautiful Alpine scenery as well as being culturally interesting. She showed us walnut dyeing, as well as a green color from a local mountain plant (good natural green colors are unusual). She weaves patterned belts, ponchos, saddle bags and flatweave rugs ... 2/3
This is Mama Rosa, a wool spinner, dyer and weaver in the Saraguro region in southern Ecuador. One of the last remaining backstrap weavers in this region. If you are in Ecuador, do visit her (she has a Facebook page, created by her daughter). Not many visitors in this region ... 1/3
The centerpiece is an altar dedicated to gods such as Pacha Mama (earth god) and Pacha Kanak (creator god). We found weavers making belts and ponchos too. The festivals are a good time to see traditional dress, and visitors are welcome and encouraged
We visited some weavers in the Cacha region of Cotopaxi province, Ecuador, and ran into a rehearsal for a festival (raymi). These events are held 4 times a year, at the equinoxes and solstices, on a sacred hilltop site ... (see alt text for details)
... these photos are of the Andrango family, in Agato, near Otavalo, north of Quito. They make traditional warp-patterned weavings from local wool, and are happy to teach visitors how to do it (fascinating, we spent 2 days with them learning complimentary warp weaving).
Just got back from 3 weeks looking at traditional backstrap loom weaving along the Andes in Ecuador. Over the next few days I will post some weavers and their locations ... I encourage you to visit them, and do buy their excellent weavings, it helps keep their craft going (see alt text) ... 1/2
Darwin’s Airport finch. The short beak is adapted for eating crackers
Darwin is known for his theory of Evolution, and on Galápagos he is also known for beer and nightlife