Chapter 1. Defining Religion -- Chapter 2. An Illusion, A Capability, A Tendency; Formation of Groups and the Encounter with Gods -- Chapter 3. Exchange with Nature and with Gods: License to Exploit -- Chapter 4. Exchange amongst Humans; Divine Supervision -- Chapter 5. Exchange amongst Humans:...

This collection examines cloth as a material and consumer object from early periods to the twenty-first century, across multiple oceanic sites-from Zanzibar, Muscat and Kampala to Ajanta, Srivijaya and Osaka. It moves beyond usual focuses on a single fibre (such as cotton) or place (such as...

"As we enter the material worlds of Spanish colonizers, we should get to know a little bit about the colonizers themselves. In this chapter, I characterize the economic standing of colonizers, focusing on their wealth and the kinds of things on which they spent or invested their money. To...

This book allows the reader to have an overview of the relations between religion and economics throughout history. It starts with the beginnings of early modern humans, when dreams (of dead ancestors), animism, synchronous movements and a propensity to exchange, led to the emergence of...