SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Texture is the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or substance. This property of objects, landscapes, bodies, and architectures is located in many diverse forms: from the grain of wood, the soft touch of silk, wind-pitted stone, or the viscosity of porridge. In anthropology, texture is understood to stimulate the mind, body, and senses and so has been used—albeit somewhat indirectly—to emphasize a range of ideas about biography and value, classificatory systems and hierarchy, memory and knowledge, materials and materiality. This entry considers these approaches and the theoretical implications of these for progressing anthropological debate in this field.