Description
Book SynopsisThe Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Volume II: Mesoamerica (Part One), gives a comprehensive and authoritative overview of all the important native civilizations of the Mesoamerican area, beginning with archaeological discussions of paleoindian, archaic and preclassic societies and continuing to the present. Fully illustrated and engagingly written, the book is divided into sections that discuss the native cultures of Mesoamerica before and after their first contact with the Europeans. The various chapters balance theoretical points of view as they trace the cultural history and evolutionary development of such groups as the Olmec, the Maya, the Aztec, the Zapotec, and the Tarascan. The chapters covering the prehistory of Mesoamerica offer explanations for the rise and fall of the Classic Maya, the Olmec, and the Aztec, giving multiple interpretations of debated topics, such as the nature of Olmec culture. Through specific discussions of the native peoples of t
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Table of Contents1. Introduction to a survey of the native prehistoric cultures of Mesoamerica Richard E. W. Adams; 2. The Paleoindian and Archaic cultures of Mesoamerica Robert N. Zeitlin and Judith Francis Zeitlin; 3. The preclassic societies of the central highlands of Mesoamerica David C. Grove; 4. The precolumbian cultures of the Gulf Coast Richard A. Diehl; 5. The Maya lowlands: pioneer farmers to merchant princes Norman Hammond; 6. The central American highlands from the rise of Teotihuacan to the decline of Tula George L. Cowgill; 7. Western and Northwestern Mexico Shirley S. Gorenstein; 8. Cultural evolution in Oaxaca: the origins of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations Joyce Marcus and Kent V. Flannery; 9. The southeast frontiers of Mesoamerica Payson D. Sheets; 10. The Maya highlands and the adjacent Pacific coast Robert J. Sharer; 11. The Aztecs and their contemporaries: the central and Eastern Mexican highlands Thomas H. Charlton.
