Discorsi sul puro e l'impuro: approcci antropologici per lo studio del mondo antico

Abstract

This paper analyzes some of the anthropological research lines that have helped to open up new perspectives in studies on the complex issue of the pure and the impure in the ancient world. After considering the introduction of the theme in nineteenth-century anthropological debate, it presents the main contributions of the French sociological school, and of structuralist and symbolic approach, the studies concerning the ritual and those linked to the notion of identity, liminality and border, within processual and dynamic, constructivist and anthropopoietic perspectives.

Keywords

• Taboo, sacred/profane, anthropology, identity, pure/impure