The Enigma of the Gift

by Maurice Godelier

Book Overview

When we think of giving gifts, we think of exchanging objects that carry with them economic or symbolic value. But is every valuable thing a potentially exchangeable item, whose value can be transferred? In The Enigma of the Gift, the distinguished French anthropologist Maurice Godelier reassesses the significance of gifts in social life by focusing on sacred objects, which are never exchanged despite the value they possess.

Beginning...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226300455
• ISBN13: 9780226300450
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"