Ritual

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE

From fire walking to funerals, the hidden science of the rituals that give life meaning

Ritual is perhaps the oldest, and certainly the most enigmatic, thread in human culture. Apparently pointless ceremonies pervade every documented society: from handshakes to hexes, hazings to parades. Before we learned to farm, we were gathering in giant stone temples. And yet, though rituals exist in every culture and can persist nearly unchanged for centuries, their logic has remained a mystery until now.

Today, a fearless new generation of anthropologists is venturing into this shadowy realm. Armed with cutting-edge technology and drawing on discoveries from a huge range of disciplines, they emerge with a powerful new perspective on our place in the world. Join the pathfinding scientist Dimitris Xygalatas on a tour of human culture at its strangest. In coronations, in silent prayer, in fire-walks and in all the bewildering variety of humanity's ritual life, Xygalatas reveals the deep and subtle mechanisms that bind us together.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781788161039
Published: January 2024

Number of pages: 320
Width: 128 mm
Height: 196 mm
Depth: 20 mm

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd