Symmetries of Culture

Theory and Practice of Plane Pattern Analysis

Dorothy K. Washburn and Donald W. Crowe

• $50.00s paperback (9780295970844) Add to Cart
• hardcover not available

• Published: 1988
• Subject Listing: Anthropology
  Textiles
  Design
• Bibliographic information: 304 pp., 611 illus.
  
• Contents

"Art historians have long been aware of recurring symmetrical patterns of form and color in ancient, tribal, folk and applied arts. Lately, anthropologists have begun using 'symmetry analysis' as a tool to explain how artworks reflect patterns of human behavior and basic values - both within one culture and among far-flung peoples. This richly illustrated study brings to light dozens of intriguing examples of symmetrical designs, for instance, in a Zulu loincloth, a Japanese chopstick case, a New England quilt, a Tibetan 'Plaque of a Thousand Lamas,' a Hawaii water gourd. The same pattern found in a fantastical drawing of lizards by M.C. Escher is echoed in a Fiji basket lid and an Egyptian wall mosaic." -Publishers Weekly

"An archaeologist and a mathmatician have collaborated to write this extremely useful guide to classifying plane pattern designs. It should benefit any researcher who describes and compares designs. The authors suggest a means of recognizing aspects of symmetry as part of the process of classifying a design according to the cryptic symmetry notation used in crystallography. Question-answer flow charts enable the reader to correctly classify designs using a standard notation. The book is extensively illustrated with carvings, textiles, basketry, tiles, and pottery, which are used as examples of various symmetry patterns." -American Anthropologist

"An impressive book - both in terms of its physical appearance and its content...[Symmetries of Culture] will undoubtedly become the major reference on the analysis of patterns in terms of symmetry properties." -Antiquity

"[Washburn and Crowe] show in rigorous...ways how symmetry classifications can...and should be applied to the analysis of cultures. The book not only summarizes symmetry classifications and presents a wealth of examples, but introduces generally applicable flow-chart techniques for the classification of one-dimensional and two-dimensional and one- and two-color designs...[It] will be of great use not only to the professional anthropologist but to all interested in plane pattern analysis." -Symmetry

Winner of the George Wittenborn Award

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. History and Theory of Plane Pattern Analysis
2. Mathematical Principles and Terminology
3. Color Symmetry
4. One-Dimensional Patterns
5. Two-Dimensional Patterns
6. Finite Designs
7. Problems in Classification
Conclusion
Appendixes
- 1. The Four Rigid Motions of the Plane
- 2. The Seven Classes of One-Dimensional Design
- 3. Comparative Notation for the Two-Color, Two-Dimensional Patterns
Bibliography
Indexes