Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History / Edition 3

by Susan Toby Evans

Overview

The definitive textbook on the archaeology and history of Mesoamerica

This essential textbook brings to life the cultures of Mexico and Central America in the centuries leading up to and including the Spanish conquest. The first edition won the Society for American Archaeology book award in 2005, and it has become a mainstay in courses throughout the United States and Canada. The third edition includes new box features, thoroughly revised references, and an up-to-date account of the rise and heyday of the Aztecs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500290651
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	02/06/2013
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Susan Toby Evans is Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University and senior editor (with David Webster) of Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia.

Table of Contents

	Preface	11
Part 1	Mesoamerica, Middle America, and Its Peoples	15
Chapter 1	Ancient Mesoamerica, the Civilization and Its Antecedents	17
	Ancient Mexico and Central America in Geographical, Cultural, and Global Context	19
	Middle American and Mesoamerican Culture History	31
Chapter 2	Ecology and Culture: Mesoamerican Beginnings	45
	Mesoamerica's Major Geophysical and Biotic Features	45
	Mesoamericans and Cultural Ecology	50
	Cultural Regions	55
	Mesoamerica's First Inhabitants: Hunter-Foragers, to 8000 BC	62
Chapter 3	Archaic Foragers, Collectors, and Farmers (8000-2000 BC)	71
	Archaic Transformations: Changes Toward Domestication of Plants, and Settled Life	73
	From Early Archaic to Middle Archaic and Beyond	83
	The Middle Archaic, C. 5500-3500 BC, and Late Archaic, C. 3500-2000 BC	88
Chapter 4	The Initial Formative (C. 2000-1200 BC)	99
	Cultural Trends of the Formative Period	100
	Isthmian Region	107
	Highlands West of the Isthmus	116
Part 2	Complex Societies of the Formative	127
Chapter 5	The Olmecs: Early Formative (C. 1200-900/800 BC)	129
	Early Formative and Initial Olmec	129
	Early Olmecs and Their Neighbors	135
	Highland Developments, West of the Isthmus	145
Chapter 6	The Olmecs: Middle Formative (C. 900-600 BC)	159
	Developments in the Southwestern Highlands	159
	Isthmus and East	172
Chapter 7	Middle to Late Formative Cultures (C. 600/500-300 BC)	185
	West of the Isthmus: Rise of Monte Alban	187
	Elsewhere in the Highlands and West Mexico	196
	Last Years of the Olmecs in the Isthmus and East	200
Chapter 8	The Emergence of States in the Late Formative (300 BC-AD 1)	205
	Proto-States in the Highlands West of the Isthmus	209
	Isthmus and East	221
Chapter 9	The Terminal Formative (AD 1-300)	235
	Early Maya Centers	236
	West of the Isthmus	240
	Teotihuacan, The Place Where Time Began	253
Part 3	Cultures of the Early Classic	261
Chapter 10	Teotihuacan and Its International Influence (AD 250/300-600)	263
	Teotihuacan: Pyramids and Palaces	264
	Teotihuacan Presence West of the Isthmus	281
Chapter 11	The Maya in the Early Classic (AD 250-600)	291
	Maya Lowlands	293
	Southeastern Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area	307
	Isthmus, Coastal Plain, Chiapas, and Guatemala Highlands	311
Part 4	Late Classic, Classic Collapse, and Epiclassic	315
Chapter 12	The Lowland Maya: Apogee and Collapse (AD 600-900)	317
	Late Classic Maya Culture	319
	Maya of the Southern Lowlands	328
	Elsewhere Among the Maya	344
Chapter 13	The Late Classic and Epiclassic in the West (AD 600-1000/1100)	349
	The Basin of Mexico and Regions to its North and West	356
	Gulf Lowlands	362
	Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Morelos	368
	Mixtec Regions and Oaxaca	373
Chapter 14	The Maya in the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic (AD 800-1200)	377
	Northwestern Yucatan: The Puuc Region	378
	Northeastern Yucatan: Coba and Its Region	384
	Vectors of Change: Chichen Itza and the Putun Maya	385
	Southern Pacific Coast and Southeastern Mesoamerica	396
Chapter 15	The Rise of Tula and Other Epiclassic Transformations (AD 900-1200)	399
	Tula and Toltec Culture	400
	Tula's Neighboring Regions	414
	Puebla/Tlaxcala and the Southwestern Highlands	416
Part 5	The Postclassic and the Rise of the Aztecs	423
Chapter 16	The Middle Postclassic (1200s-1430)	425
	East of the Isthmus and the Gulf Lowlands	429
	West Mexico: The Rise of the Tarascans of Michoacan	434
	The Basin of Mexico	437
Chapter 17	The Aztecs: An Empire is Born (1325-1440)	447
	Basin of Mexico	448
Chapter 18	The Aztec Empire Develops (1440-1481)	469
	The Reign of Motecuzoma Ilhuicamina, 1440-1469	469
	The Reign of Axayacatl, 1469-1481	491
Chapter 19	The Aztec Empire at its Height (1481-1519)	497
	Tizoc, 1481-1486	497
	Ahuitzotl, 1486-1502	502
	Motecuzoma Xocoyotzin, 1502-1520	511
Chapter 20	The Conquest of Mexico and its Aftermath	525
	The Spaniards Collect Allies	525
	Motecuzoma, Prisoner of Fear	532
	Early Colonial New Spain	540
	Reference Maps	551
	Further Reading and Bibliography	573
	Sources of Illustrations	588
	Index	590

Editorial Reviews

In his all-encompassing synthetic history of Native American cultures of the vast region comprising Mexico and Central America today, Evans (anthropology, Pennsylvania State Univ.) traverses many thousands of years, from the earliest hunter-foragers to the sophisticated, urbanized societies encountered by the Spaniards. With vast reading and dogged inclusiveness, Evans has produced what must be the most informative single-volume survey of Pre-Columbian social evolution available. The reader will not only learn about the current understanding of better-known peoples like the Maya and Aztec but will also be thoroughly immersed in the scholarship surrounding obscure and sometimes peripheral societies and sites. Less than perfectly attentive readers might be overwhelmed by the adherence to an outline that is "horizontally" structured according to stages of societal development and further subdivided into not always intelligible "phases" that "vertically" characterize a myriad of geographic regions. The textbook-like scaffolding and strong tendency toward repetition further diminish the work. Nevertheless, there is no denying the usefulness of the redactions of recent archaeological studies; the many inserts on topics of pervasive import, like maize and the ballgame; the excellent gathering of reference maps; the detailed bibliography; and the 459 illustrations. All of these qualities are more than sufficient to recommend this valuable reference resource to collections attentive to the needs of serious students and sophisticated travelers.-Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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