..., this essay considers how Peruvian bezoar stones acquired transatlantic importance following their discovery in 1568 by a Spanish soldier. In spite of its less-than-glamorous physiological genesis as a calcinated concretion formed in the digestive tract of ruminants, including the four species of Andean...

... combination to reconstruct patterns of circulation and shifts in the meaning of objects. First, Marcia Stephenson recovers the history of bezoar stones, hardened secretions from the entrails of animals, which early modern Euro- peans believed to have medicinal properties, particularly as antidotes to poi...

... microstudies on wide-ranging topics such as bezoar stones, the sale of papal bulls, and the organization of forced labor at the Huancavelica mercury mines. The book stands as an inspiration to historians, both new and well-seasoned, who face the excruciating task of bringing order to disparate information...