Making Value, Making Meaning: Techné in the Pre-Columbian World provides a collection of essays by various contributors in the fields of art history and archeology on the concept of techné, a
Mesoamerican term for socially purposeful skilled crafting, and how technology, production, artisan identity, and esoteric knowledge factor into material culture. The essays contained in this
volume demonstrate that techné provides a useful framework for understanding the production of social valuables, prestige goods, and public monuments in pre-Columbian societies. They help the
reader to develop a broader understanding of the relationships between people and the production of goods, as well as the role of goods themselves in the social world. Annotation ©2016
Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
