The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas

This book gives a comprehensive, authoritative overview of the history of all the important native civilizations of Mesoamerica.

Richard E. W. Adams (Edited by), Murdo J. MacLeod (Edited by)

9780521652049, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 April 2000

464 pages, 25 maps 13 tables
22.9 x 3 x 15.2 cm, 0.85 kg

'It is profoundly reassuring that this kind of scholarly publishing continues to flourish at the start of a new millennium, and it is even more profoundly to be hoped that these books acquire the wide readership that they deserve.' The Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute

The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Volume II: Mesoamerica (Part Two), 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 the different regions of Mexico, the chapters on the period since the arrival of the Europeans address the themes of contact, exchange, transfer, survivals, continuities, resistance, and the emergence of modern nationalism and the nation-state.

Part II: 12. Mesoamerica since the Spanish invasion: an overview Murdo J. MacLeod
13. Legacies of resistance, adaptation, and tenacity: history of the native peoples of Northwest Mexico Susan M. Deeds
14. The native peoples of Northeastern Mexico David Frye
15. The indigenous peoples of Western Mexico from the Spanish invasion to the present Eric Van Young
16. Native peoples of colonial central Mexico Sarah L. Cline
17. Native peoples of Central Mexico since independence Frans J. Schryer
18. Native peoples of the Gulf Coast from the colonial period to the present Susan Deans-Smith
19. The indigenous population of Oaxaca from the sixteenth century to the present María de los Angeles Romero Frizzi
20. The lowland Maya, from the conquest to the present Grant D. Jones
21. The highland Maya W. George Lovell.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD], History of the Americas [HBJK]