Shamans

The visual culture of animism, healing and journeys to other planes

Max Carocci

$54.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Thames & Hudson
01 September 2025

Religion & beliefs; Other non-Christian religions; Spirituality & religious experience

A clear, concise and compelling analysis of the eclectic and beautiful visual and material culture of shamanism.

Entering trance states, healing body and soul, invoking animals as spirit guides and journeying to incorporeal realms - these skills have been central to shamanism over thousands of years and across much of the world, from the Evenki shamans of northern and central Asia to contemporary Neo-Shamans of the West. Join cultural and social anthropologist Max Carocci as he explores an eclectic array of shamanic artefacts and images, decoding the symbolism and explaining their extraordinary shamanic ritual practices. Marvel at the adornments of a Siberian shaman's coat; examine the prehistoric rock art that depicts mystical transformations of shamans into animals; and discover the psychotropic plants that open our minds to interdimensional journeys of healing and wisdom.

Carocci makes the manifold meanings encoded in the forms, colours and purposes of shamanic images and objects clear, painting a vibrant and in-depth picture of shamanic cultures past and present.

By: Max Carocci
Imprint: Thames & Hudson
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 170mm,
ISBN: 9780500028681
ISBN 10: 0500028680
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Max Carocci is a cultural and social anthropologist and is currently adjunct professor in Art History and Visual Cultures at the American University in London. For twelve years, he designed and taught the World Arts programme for Birkbeck College, London, in partnership with the British Museum. He is the co-editor of Art, Shamanism and Animism (2022), and has curated numerous exhibitions and collections for institutions, including the British Museum, the Horniman Museum, the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Musée du Nouveau Monde in La Rochelle, France.