Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America (English)

A rich historical and cultural resource on one of the world's six cradles of civilization. Mexico and adjacent countries are very much in the news, and the U.S.-Mexican border has become highly porous, with significant exchanges of population and culture. Yet few American have an educated understanding of the cultural roots of our neighbor nation and of the influence of its ancient cultures on the surrounding region. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia in English devoted to pre-Columbian archaeology of the Mesoamerican (Mexico and Central America) culture area. This region was one of the world's six cradles of early civilization. In-depth articles on the major cultural areas of ancient Mexico and Central America. These entries bring the most recent scholarship to an examination of regional environments and their cultural evolution. Special care has been taken to describe an entire culturalarea, not just those sites or aspects that are well known or that have been well researched in the past. Extensive coverage of important sites The encyclopedia provides a unique panorama, from the familiar and world-renowned archaeological discoveries of Maya and Aztec sites to more recent excavations (such as the Sayil archaeological zone in the Yucat n and Teopantecuanitl n in Guerrero). It devotes entries not only to the showy sites that are famous among tourists and that have been the subjects of archaeological investigation and writing in the past, but also to the lesser-known and more modest locations that reveal other vital cultural clues. Essays on specific aspects and practices of Mesoamerican culture The book considers a wide array of specific topics that bring day-to-day life among these ancient peoples to life. Readers will be tempted to browse among entries devoted to everyday life such as eating habits, dress, and issues surrounding ethnicity as well as to lessaccessible practices such as ancestor veneration and cannibalism. Valuable resource for students, scholars and travelers With more than 500 articles by the major experts in the field, the Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia is a reference book aimed at a wide audience that includes students and scholars seeking information about sites and culture areas of the region. The book is also a excellent source for prospective travelers to the region. With more and more North Americans and Europeans traveling in Mexico and Central America--many of them to visit archaeological sites--the encyclopedia is a valuable resource for learning about these sites and about and customs and traditions of the ancient peoples of the region. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America contains a number of features that will aid readers and enrich the text. Bibliographies at the end of entries guide the reader to additional sources on a topic. An extensive illustrationprogram-consisting of photographs, geographic maps, maps of important archaeological sites, and a special guide to the pronunciation of ancient terms-allows the reader to see actual sites and cultural artifacts and to place them in a contemporary context. The end of the volume contains an annotated glossary of terms and a comprehensive index. minimize