Garrick Mallery

Pictographs of the North American Indians (eBook, ePUB)

Illustrated Edition

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A pictograph is a writing by picture. It conveys and records an idea or occurrence by graphic means without the use of words or letters. The execution of the pictures of which it is composed often exhibits the first crude efforts of graphic art, and their study in that relation is of value. When pictures are employed as writing the conception intended to be presented is generally analyzed, and only its most essential points are indicated, with the result that the characters when frequently repeated become conventional, and in their later forms cease to be recognizable as objective portraitures. A general deduction made after several years of study of pictographs of all kinds found among the North American Indians is that they exhibit very little trace of mysticism or of esotericism in any form. They are objective representations and cannot be treated as ciphers or cryptographs in any attempt at their interpretation. A knowledge of the customs, costumes, including arrangement of hair, paint, and all tribal designations, and of their histories and traditions is essential to the understanding of their drawings, for which reason some of those particulars known to have influenced pictography are set forth in this book, and others are suggested which possibly had a similar influence.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: e-artnow
• Seitenzahl: 243
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. Dezember 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 4066339575745
• Artikelnr.: 69548941

Autorenporträt

Garrick Mallery was a distinguished American ethnologist and philologist, particularly recognized for his extensive work with Native American cultures. Born on April 25, 1831, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mallery had a diverse career, initially serving in the Union Army during the Civil War before turning his attention to legal practice and eventually ethnography. His significant transition to ethnology was facilitated by his appointment to the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, allowing him to meld his legal background with a burgeoning interest in anthropological matters. Mallery became a prominent member of the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution where he worked alongside fellow ethnologists like John Wesley Powell. He devoted much of his research to the study of Native American sign language and symbology, which culminated in his pivotal work, 'Pictographs of the North American Indians' (1881). This book offered an in-depth exploration of the intricate and varied systems of graphical representation utilized by various Indigenous tribes, highlighting their cultural significance and complex meanings. Mallery's scholarly approach to ethnography significantly contributed to the understanding of the symbolic language among Native American communities and cemented his legacy as a thoughtful interpreter of indigenous symbolism and communication. His contributions to the fields of ethnology and anthropology were substantial and remain valued for their empathy and scholarly rigor.