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Books on Archaeology & Anthropology
in the Americas

The Archive Library — June 2002

 

ATLAS OF ANCIENT AMERICA
Michael Coe, Dean Snow and Elizabeth Benson. Equinox/Time-Life, 1989.
Describes geography and environments of the Americas; charts the fate of native populations under European impact. Covers the earliest migrations from 'Beringia' to the end of the last Ice Age, surveys the major local cultures that flourished after Paleo-Indian groups had adapted to new local ecologies. The Atlas integrates maps based on original research, artwork reconstructions of individual settlements, with features on numerous sites: Mesa Verde, Teotihuacan, Chavin de Huantar etc., and subjects such as the Southern Cult, the Mesoamerican Ballgame, Sacred Stone. Chronological table, bibliography, gazeteer and index. 240 pages.

PREHISTORY OF THE AMERICAS
Stuart J. Fiedel. Cambridge UP, edition 1990.
Traces the rapid expansion of Paleo-Indian hunters; the adaptations of archaic hunter-gatherers to post-Ice Age environments; origins and spread of farming and village life; the rise and fall of chiefdoms and states. How population growth, technological innovations, environmental constraints, climate change, and social and ideological factors influenced the cultural evolution that characterizes different regions of the New World. Includes a discussion of the development of American archeology. Author & subject indexes. 386 pages.

NEW WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY: Theoretical and Cultural Transformations
Selected and introduced by Ezra B.W. Zubrow, Margaret C. Fritz and John M. Fritz. Freeman, 1974
32 articles on the major archeological finds in the New World, from the Scientific American, 1948 to 1974. Bibliographies, index. 335 pages.

THE MAKING OF THE PAST: THE NEW WORLD
Warwick M. Bray, Earl H. Swanson, Ian S. Farrington. Elsevier/Phaidon, 1975.
Gives an account of pioneering explorers and archeologists, and the history and archeology of North America, Mesoamerica, and South America; covers the Mayan and Aztec civilisations of Central America, the Incas of the Andes region, and North American Indian cultures, as well as less well-known prehistoric precursors of the classic civilisations. Four 'visual stories' illustrate the vast Mexican city of Teotihuacan; the flintworking techniques of prehistoric peoples; the 10-12th century settlement of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico; and the mountaintop Inca fortress-city of Machu Picchu. Further reading, glossary, index. 151 pages.

THE PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILISATIONS: The World of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas
Henri Stierlin. Sunflower Books, 1979.
Covers the Mother Culture of the Olmecs; Classic Maya ceremonial centres, and the palaces of Uxmal; Chichen-Itza and the Maya-Toltec renaissance; the 'Cities of the Gods' Teotihuacan and Monte Alban; El Tajin, early capital of the Totonacs; the Aztec Empire; pre-Inca civilisations in Peru - Chavin, Moche, Chimu, and Nazca; the Inca Empire. 96 pages.

PEOPLES OF THE SUN: The Civilizations of Pre-Columbian America
C.A. Burland. Weidenfeld & Nicholson/BCA, 1976.
The major civilizations of Pre-Columbian America span nearly 3000 years. The development of painting and religion in Mexico, weaving and sculpture among the Maya, the magnificent gold work of the peoples between, the ceramics of early Peru, and the recording systems of the Incas, are among the many cultural high points. Includes reproductions of Mexican and Mayan codices, the monuments of the Toltecs and Aztecs, the precious artefacts and erotic imagery of these primitive peoples.
Appendix on carbon-dating; short bibliography; index; 240 pages.

PLANNING AND CITIES: Urban Planning in Pre-Columbian America
Jorge Hardoy. George Braziller Inc, 1968.
Dr Hardoy uses social and political factors - the production of goods and services, population, labour force, power structure, etc - as the determining criteria for a planned city, rather than merely the existence of a regular layout. In the case of each of the classical cultures of Central and South America,he discusses ways in which the technical capacity of the society, the characteristics of the sites, and the material and human resources available influenced the scale, choice of materials and tools, and design of the cities. The process of urbanization is traced from Central Mexico to the Maya of the Yucatan peninsula and down through the Bolivian highlands. Illustrations, chronology, and maps between pages 49-112. Bibliography, index. 128 pages.

MEXICO: A History in Art
Bradley Smith. Gemini-Smith Inc, 1979.
The history of ancient and modern Mexico as shown in the sculpture and painting of its great artists from prehistoric to modern times. How life was lived in the first villages, the splendour of the classic city states, the tumultuous rise of the Aztec Empire and its fall to the conquistadores. The struggle for independence against overwhelming European power; the People's Revolution and emergence as an influential member of the world community. Listing of works of art, bibliography, index. 296 pages.

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF MEXICO: from 10,000 BC to the Present Day
Pedro Rojas. Translated by J.M. Cohen. Paul Hamlyn, 1968.
When the conquering Spaniards arrived at the beginning of the 16th century, they found a marvellous range of flourishing indigenous culture. Much of this they destroyed and imposed the Spanish form of contemporary Western civilization, but the native Mexicans successfully imbued it with their own exuberance and individuality. In some measure they assimilated the conqueror. The revolution of 1910 marked the entry of Mexico into the 20th century, artistically as well as politically. Chronological table; notes on the plates and 146 plates.

MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY
Irene Nicholson. Paul Hamlyn, 1967.
The culture grew from the people's beliefs in simple things - the maize which provided basic food, the bright stones invaders were to covet, the sun and the rain. Out of the old stories came myths of man and his universe, sacred books that set down the history and beliefs of a great civilsation. The illustrations are drawn from seven cultures - Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Totonac, Toltec and Aztec - ranging over 2000 years. index. 141 pages.

MARKINGS: Aerial Views of Sacred Landscapes
Photographs by Marilyn Bridges. Phaidon, 1986.
Bridge's elegant record of the signs of ancient culture on the earth's surface - a flight over the plains of Peru to witness the extensive spirals, 'runways' and animal figures drawn by the Nazca Indians; flying over the Yucatan jungles to photograph Mayan temples from low altitudes. Maria Reiche writes on the Nazca lines, Charles Gallenkamp on Mayan sites at Yucatan and Chiapas, Lucy Lippard on American landscapes. 104 pages.

THE ATLAS OF MYSTERIOUS PLACES: The World's Unexplained Sacred Sites, Symbolic Landscapes, Ancient Cities and Lost Lands
Consultant Editor: Jennifer Westwood. Marshall Editions/BCA, 1987.
Includes Palenque; Nazca; earth mounds in North America; Machu Picchu; Chaco Canyon; Teotihuacan; Eldorado. With gazeteer, glossary, bibliography and index. 240 pages.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, MEXICO CITY
Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti & Licia Ragghianti Collobi. Hamlyn, 1971.
Introduction by Arthur Romano, director of the museum; details of the building and history of the collections. Book covers the following periods: Tlatilco, Olmec and Zapotec cultures [1100BC - 200AD]; Totonac, Teotihuacan, Colima, Nayarit, and Zapotec cultures [200AD - 600AD]; Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Mayan, Toltec and Huastec cultures [600AD - 1250AD]; and Aztec, Mixtec, Huastec and Casas Grandes cultures [1250AD - 1521AD]. Index of illustrations and names. 172 pages.

ANCIENT OAXACA: The Monte Albán State
Blanton/Feinman/Kowalewski/Nicholas. Cambridge UP, 1999.
Mesoamerica & its pre-Hispanic civilisation /Valley of Oaxaca: a regional setting for an early state /Origins of Monte Albán /The great transformation / Synthesis and conclusions. Bibliographical essay; Bibliography; Index. 153 pp.

MEXICO
Michael D. Coe. Thames & Hudson, Third edition 1984. Paoerback 1992.
Chronological tables / Early hunters / Archaic Period / Formative Period / Early civilisations / Classic Period / Post-Classic Period: the Toltec state / Rival states / Aztec Empire. Reigning monarchs of the Aztec state.
Text references / Select bibliography / index. 180 pages.

TREASURES OF ANCIENT MEXICO: from the National Anthropological Museum
Maria Antonieta Cervantes, text. Crescent Books, 1978.
Study composed of three parts - 1: Prehispanic archeology, 2: the Spanish conquest and changes it brought about, 3: an ethnographic approach to the presentday indigenous groups, emphasizing the survival of prehispanic and colonial cultural patterns. 96 pages.

Living Architecture: ANCIENT MEXICAN
Henri Stierlin, text and photographs. Macdonald, 1968.
Detailed account of pre-Columbian architecture in Mexico from its earliest appearance in about the ninth century BC to its final manifestation under the Aztecs in the sixteenth century AD. Legacy of the past / Common bases in pre-Columbian cultures / Birth of architecture / Birth of a capital, Teotihuacan / Great builders of Southern Mexico and the Gulf / From Toltec invention to Aztec synthesis. Chronological table; bibliography; list of plates; list of plans. 192 pages.

THE CITIES OF ANCIENT MEXICO: Reconstructing a Lost World
Jeremy A. Sabloff. Thames & Hudson, 1989.
Standard histories tend to focus on the individual progress of early societies; this book empasizes the unity of Mexican civilisation. Includes gazetteer; list of illustrations; index. 224 pages.

MYSTERIES OF THE MEXICAN PYRAMIDS
Peter Tompkins. [1976] British edition, Thames & Hudson, 1987.
Generations of explorers and scholars such as Humboldt, Stephens and Brasseur de Bourbourg have tried to solve the mystery of the existence of the pyramids. Theories have been advanced concerning the design of the pyramids as mathematical computers, astronomical observatories, and foci for cosmic and telluric forces; Tompkins discusses these and other speculations in detail. Lavishly illustrated, with engravings, photographs, drawings and plans. Bibliography; index. 427 pages.

PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE OF MESOAMERICA
Doris Heyden & Paul Gendrop. [1973] British Pbk, Faber & Faber/Electa, 1988.
Making full use of the results of archaeological excavations in which the latest scientific techniques have been employed, as well as the wealth of evidence presented by the monuments themselves, the authors describe the pre-classical period of architecture, then give a detailed account of the classic period - the Central Plateau of Mexico, Cholula, El Tajin, Oaxaca, Uaxactun, Tikal, Yaxchilan, Palenque, Bonampak, Copan, Quirigua, Dzibilchaltun, Quintana Roo, Xpuhil, Sayil, Labna, Kabah, Uxmal; and describe the post-Classic Period in Central Mexico and in other regions. Bibliography; index. 235 pages.

KINGDOMS OF GOLD, KINGDOMS OF JADE: The Americas before Columbus
Brian M. Fagan. Thames & Hudson, 1991.
Understanding of the pre-Columbian civilizations has been immeasurably enhanced by archaeological fieldwork over the last two or three decades, but outside Mesoamerica and the Andean region, in the North American Southwest, Midwest and Southeast, there are abundant traces of once-powerful societies. This book attempts an 'over-view', a discussion of the history of all American Indian cultures. Index. 240 pages.

THE GODS & SYMBOLS OF ANCIENT MEXICO AND THE MAYA: An illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion
Mary Miller & Karl Taube. Thames & Hudson, 1993.
Introduction on Mesoamerican culture and chronology, defines Mesoamerican civilization: the Olmec enigma, the early Zapotecs and contemporaries, the protoclassic Maya, the rise of Teotihuacan, the classic Zapotecs and Veracruz, the classic Maya, early postclassic: Tula and Chichen Itza, the postclassic Mixtecs and Aztecs.The conceptual framework of Mesoamerican religion is outlined. Subject index; guide to sources and bibliography. 216 pages.

WOMAN IN PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
Ferdinand Anton. Translated from the German. Abner Schram, 1973.
Details the customs and lore surrounding the lives of women in a wide range of cultural settings: from the Aztec society obsessed with predestination, in which the citizens of every rank tried to modify the influence of unseen powers by scrupulous adherence to a system of horoscopes set down in the 'Book of Days', to the less pessimistic and repressive cultures of the Maya, and the theocratic totalitarian empire of the Inca, in which the life of every citizen was regulated and recorded, (though this warlike and paternalistic society did not sequester women prior to marriage and held liberal attitudes toward trial marriage and virginity). Women played a role in religious sects, as priestesses, prostitutes and sacrificial victims, and as 'godesses' in a female pantheon. Synoptic table; catalogue of illustrations; bibliography;illustrations. 112 pages.

THE ART OF MESOAMERICA From Olmec to Aztec
Mary Ellen Miller. World of Art /Thames & Hudson, 1986.
General introduction to the history of Mesoamerican art and architecture.
Bibliography; list of illustrations; index. 240 pages.

THE ANCIENT SUN KINGDOMS OF THE AMERICAS: Aztec / Maya / Inca
Victor Wolfgang von Hagen. [1962] Panther, 1967.
The Aztecs - "A God-tormented People"; the Mayas - "Cities of the Jungle"; the Incas - "Kingdom of Gold". Chronology; bibliography; sources; index. 351 pages.

WARLORDS OF THE ANCIENT AMERICAS: Central America
Peter G. Tsouras. Arms & Armour Press, 1996.
Study of the rulers and warriors of the lands of Central America over thirteen centuries of history.
The First Conquerors: Smoking Frog & the Maya Star Wars / Tolpiltzin Quetzalcoatl, Our Lord the Feathered Serpent.
The Empire Builders: Tezozomoc, Mexican Machiavelli / Nezahualcoyotl, Poet Warlord / Three Hard Men of Tenochtitlan / Mighty Grandsons of Motecuhzoma
Defeat and Counterattack: Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotl / O Mexica, Courage!
Bibliography; Index. 240 pages.

ANCIENT ARTS OF THE AMERICAS
G.H.S. Bushnell. [1965] Revised edition, Thames & Hudson, 1967.
This survey covers an area ranging from Wisconsin to Argentina and spans in time the four millennia from 2500BC to the arrival of the Conquistadors. The lesser-known achievements of peoples whose art has been overshadowed by the more spectacular legacy of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas, are considered. Chronology; bibliography; list of illustrations; maps; index. 288 pages.

PRE-COLUMBIAN ART
Esther Pasztory. Everyman Art Library, 1998.
By comparing and contrasting Andean and Mesoamerican traditions, Pasztory unlocks some of the elaborate myths and belief systems that form part of their cultures. Man in Time / An alternative path in Mesoamerican Art / Eclectic Synthesis / The Andes: Cosmic order in space / Alternative path in Andean art / Disappearance of the image. Conclusion; Timeline; Bibiography; Index. 176pp.

THE FIRST AMERICANS: The Pre-Columbian Civilisations
G.H.S. Bushnell. [1968]. Thames & Hudson/BCA, 1975.
Knowledge of the ancient civilisations of America has been transformed. Radiocarbon dating has enabled many advances to be made, including the substitution of a time scale for guesswork and the establishment of correlations between the chronologies of different areas. Dr Bushnell concentrates on the areas where the highest civilisations developed - Mesoamerica and the Central Andes. Bibliography; index. 144 pages.

THE FIRST AMERICANS
Juan Schobinger. Wm.B.Eerdmans Publishing, Michigan, 1994.
Traces the six most important steps in the development of pre-Columbian
civilisation in the Americas.
Ancient Inhabitants of the Americas / American Neolithic / First Metropolis:
Teotihuacán / The Olmecs & the Maya / First Andean Empire: Chavin / The
People from the center of the World: Tiahuanaco. 195pp.

TEOTIHUACAN: Art from the City of the Gods
Edited by Kathleen Berrin & Esther Pasztory. [1993 - Exhibition catalogue for Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco] Thames & Hudson, pbk edition, 1994.
Fifteen hundred years ago, Teotihuacan was one of the world's great cities, with some 200,000 inhabitants. Then in the eighth century came a mysterious collapse - even knowledge of the original name was lost: Teotihuacan, "City of
the Gods", was a title bestowed by the Aztecs six hundred years later.
Envisioning a city / Uncovering the past / Beyond Teotihuacan / Catalogue of objects. Bibliography; Index. 288pp.

ELUSIVE TREASURE: The Story of Early Archaeologists in the Americas
Brian Fagan. [1977] Macdonald & Jane/BCA, 1978.
Archaeology in the Americas witnessed an era of unbridled speculation, frenzied excavations, and conflicting attitudes towards the Indians. Describes the major controversies surrounding such varied topics as the Spaniards' treatment of the Aztecs and Incas, the destruction of the North American Indians' mysterious ancient burial mounds, and the discovery of the Seven Lost Cities of Cibola. Index. 369 pages.

MEDIEVAL AMERICAN ART: Masterpieces of the New World before Columbus
Pal Kelemen. In 2 volumes. [1956]. Dover Reprint, 1969.
A general survey of pre-Columbian art, combining photographic material with a full text on the artistic achievements of native Americans, from the Southwestern United States down to the Andean regions around Lake Titicaca. The first volume deals with architecture, sculpture and pottery; the second, weaving, metalwork, jade and other semi-precious stones, murals and manuscripts, and applied arts. 308 plates. Bibliography; index. 418 pages.

DESIGN MOTIFS OF ANCIENT MEXICO
Jorge Enciso. [1947]. Translated for Dover, 1953.
A collection of 766 vigorous primitive designs: plumed serpents, calendrical elements, wind gods, insects, toads, lizards, birds, real and mythological animals, flowers, demons, human heads and figures, and abstract designs from carved seals of Aztec, Maya, Totonac, Zapotec, Olmec, Toltec and other early Mexican cultures. (Copyright free!). 153 pages.

THE CODEX NUTTALL: A Picture Manuscript from Ancient Mexico
Zelia Nuttall (Ed). Dover, 1975.
A complete colour reproduction, in standard book format, of the facsimile screenfold originally published by the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology & Ethnology, in 1902. Arthur G. Miller contributes a preface and introduction to this edition. The Codex was painted by Mixtec artists some time prior to the Spanish conquest; it may have been one of two hand-painted books sent to the Emperor Charles V by Cortes. In effect, a Book of Kings, narrating in picture and hieroglyph the sacred history of the Mixtecs; centering around the year 1000AD, it shows the births of kings, their marriages, offspring, and major events in their lives. 88 plates.

ATLAS OF ANCIENT ARCHAEOLOGY
Jacquetta Hawkes (Ed). Heinemann, 1974.
In the section on the Americas, pp.224-264, Dr J.D. Jennings writes on North America, and the following areas are covered: Archaic Caves of the Desert; Adena-Hopewell burial mounds; Snaketown; Mesa Verde; Pueblo Bonito; Bandelier National Monument; Temple mounds; and Huff Village. Dr Warwick Bray writes on Mesoamerica: Teotihuacan; Cholula; Monte Alban; Mitla; Tikal; Palenque; Copan; Uxmal; Chichen Itza; El Tajin; Xochicalco; Tula; Tenochtitlan; and La Quemada. Dr Norman Hammond on South America: San Augustin; Chavin de Huantar; Tiahuanaco; Chan Chan; Machu Picchu; and Cuzco.

ECHOES OF THE ANCIENT SKIES: The Astronomy of Ancient Skies
E.C.Krupp. Harper & Row, 1983: OUP paperback 1994.
Archeoastronomy is the interdisciplinary study of ancient, prehistoric, and traditional astronomy and its cultural context. It is anthropologically oriented, and archeoastronomists are more interested in understanding how astronomy affects society and culture than in identifying astronomical alignments, although these remain an important element of research. Touches on sacred kingship, the connection between sky and earth, the Inca calendar and society, the calendar cycles of the Maya and Aztec, the celestial alignment of temples in ancient Mexico, sacred capitals and the source of world order (Tenochtitlan, Cuzco, Teotihuacan), on cosmology and why we do it.
Bibliography; index. 386 pages.

ANCIENT AMERICA
Jonathan Norton Leonard. Time-Life Books, 1967.
Earliest Americans / The great stone cities / An age of warrior-kings / High culture in the Andes / Gods and Empires / Triumphs of native genius / Horsemen from the sea / The deathless Heritage. Appendix: Chronologies. Bibiography; index. 192 pages.

THE GREAT ARCHAEOLOGISTS
Edward Bacon (Ed). Martin Secker & Warburg/BCA 1976.
"The modern world's discovery of ancient civilisations as originally reported in the pages of The Illustrated London News from 1842 to the present day". Includes: Extinct Cities of Central America, 1843; Inca Empire, Peru, 1883;Guatavita, Colombia, 1886; Nasca, Peru, 1913;Teotihuacan,1920; Maya ruins, 1923; Lubaantun, Br. Honduras, 1924; Maya Yucatan, 1924; Bonampak murals, 1949; Palenque, 1953; Tikal, 1962.

THE PLUNDERED PAST: The Traffic in Art Treasures
Karl Meyer. Hamish Hamilton, 1973.
The documented result of three years of pioneer investigation into the illicit traffic in stolen and pillaged antiquities. Such as the dilemma that faced the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1968, when it was debating whether it should buy the entire facade of a Maya temple, air-lifted from a southern Campeche site... Appendices include: Looted sites in El Peten; Pillaged Maya sites in Mexico; Law on Importation of pre-Columbian Sculpture and murals. Bibliography; index. 353 pages.

STOLEN CONTINENTS: The Indian Story
Ronald Wright. [1992] Pimlico edition, 1993.
An impassioned historical polemic, a chronicle of the devastation Europeans have wrought in the Americas since Columbus. The invasion, resistance and struggle for rebirth of the Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee and Iroquois peoples are charted in detail; post-Columbian heroes, ancient and modern, from George Washington to Mario Vargas Llosa, are reprimanded for Eurocentric pronouncements and policies. But Cortes suffered a humiliating defeat before smallpox struck the Aztecs and destroyed half their population, and the Incas met the same fate before Pizarro had fired a shot. By 1600, the population of the Americas had shrunk to a tenth of its pre-Columbian size. European greed and bigotry destroyed what disease could not - exquisite works of art were melted for their gold, thousands of books burned, cities razed, temples destroyed... This is a story about the destruction of civilization, not its westward progress. Maps; bibliography; index. 424 pages.

THE COLLAPSE OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES
Joseph A. Tainter. [1988] Paperback edition, Cambridge UP, 1990.
Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations, to develop a far-reaching theory that accounts for collapse among diverse kinds of societies, evaluating his model and clarifying the processes of disintegration with detailed studies including the Mayan and Chacoan collapses. References; index. 250 pages.

TULA: The Toltec Capital of Ancient Mexico
Richard A. Diehl. Thames & Hudson, 1983.
The rise and fall of Tula was one of the decisive processes of Mexican history, to be compared with the emergence and decline of the great city of Teotihuacan which preceded it, and with the growth of the capital city of the Aztecs, now Mexico City, which came after.
Synopsis of Mesoamerican geography & culture history / Archaeological investigations at Tula / The Toltec beginnings / The Tollan phase city / Toltec domestic architecture / Toltec economy / Toltecs in central Mexico / Toltec contacts with Greater Mesoamerica / Demise of the Toltecs.
Notes; Bibliography; Index. 184pp.

PAINTED BOOKS FROM MEXICO: Codices in UK Collections & the World they Represent
Gordon Brotherston. British Museum Press, 1995.
The Books of Mesoamerica / Responses to Invasion / The Island Aztlan / Seven Caves & the Chichimec / The Mixtec Lineage Tree / Quetzalcoatl's Tula / Ritual Synthesis / Stating the Case. Appendices: Layout of texts / Transcriptions and translations of Nahuatl glosses. Commentaries; Maps; Tables; Bibliography;
Index. 224 pp.

See also TIME-LIFE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

BARBARIAN TIDES 1500 - 600 BC
Awakening in the Americas: the Chavin of the Peruvian Andes, and the Olmec of the Gulf coast of Mesoamerica.

EMPIRES BESIEGED AD 200 - 600
A Chronicle in Clay: the Moche people / The Zapotecs in Mexico / The Teotihuacan Empire / The rise of the Maya in Guatemala / The Paracas, direct cultural ancestors of the Nazca.

FURY OF THE NORTHMEN AD 800 - 1000
Monument Builders in the Americas / The Hopewell carry Adena cultural traditions to a new level / The Hohokam of Arizona, Mogollon of New Mexico, and Anasazi, in the canyons and mesas of the Colorado Plateau / Rise of Mixtec in southern Mexico / Huari-Tiahuanaco Empires in Andes.

VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY AD 1400 -1500
Lost Empires of the Americas: the Aztecs and the Incas.

THE EUROPEAN EMERGENCE AD 1500 - 1600
The conquest of the New World: Cortes and Pizarro / The gold of El Dorado.

See also DISCOVERING ART: the Illustrated Story of Art through the Ages (Purnell, 1965)

PRIMITIVE ART NO.2: The Founders of the Great Mexican Civilisations
Pre-Classical Mexico, period 1800BC - AD200. From a farming community there developed a hierarchical society dominated by priests with a correspondingly advanced and religious art which was greatly to influence succeeding cultures.

PRIMITIVE ART NO.7: Central America Crossroads between North and South
With the advantage of gold near at hand, the scattered tribes of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica developed a skill in gold-working far beyond that they achieved in their architecture, sculpture and pottery.

See also:

THE SEVENTY GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Unlocking the Secrets of Past Civilisations
Edited by Brian M. Fagan. Thames & Hudson, 2001.
Maya Myth: Will the world end in 2012 ? / Aztlán and the Myth of the Aztec Migration / The First Americans & Kennewick Man / Were the Olmecs African ? / Lost City of the Maya: The hunt for Site Q / Mystery of the Nazca lines / Who built Tiwanaku? / Why did the Incas sacrifice children? / The Zapotec & Isthmiam Scripts / El Niños & the collapse of Moche civilization / What happened to the Anasazi?

See also:

VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY: Great Discoveries Brought to Life Through Virtual Reality.
Thames & Hudson, 1997.
A team of international scholars present remarkable new finds, using computer-aided techniques, including:
Pueblo Bonito and the Anasazi Indians / Cahokia: An ancient North American city / Teotihuacan: The City of the Gods /Tikal: A Jungle Metropolis / Palenque and the mysterious Pyramid / Copán: City of Art / The discovery of Tenochtitlan's Great Temple /Deciphering the Aztec Script / The Great Inca Empire of the Andes / The mysterious Nazca Lines / The Moche civilisation: The Tomb of the 'Lord of Sipán'.

THE MAYA

THE ROUTE OF THE MAYAS
Everyman Guide. David Campbell Publishers Ltd, 1995.
With more than 2,000 illustrations printed in full colour, is both a guide and an art book in miniature for the resident as well as the first-time visitor.
Nature / History / The Maya Today / Mayan Textiles / Architecture / The Route of the Mayas as seen by artists / The Route of the Mayas as seen by writers / Eastern Yucatan / Western Yucatan / Chiapas / Highlands of Guatemala / Southeastern Maya / Peten / Belize / Practical information.
Appendices: Bibliography; List of illustrations; index. 424 pp.

INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN YUCATAN: in two volumes
John L. Stephens. Original edition 1843. Unabridged reprint, Dover, 1963.
Before Stephens' expedition to Yucatan in 1841, little was known of that country: the Mayan Indian culture had not been discovered. Stephens found, and described in this work, 44 Maya sites. Important as it is to the world of science, this work is nonetheless a great classic of travel and exploration. Frederick Catherwood's drawings showing ancient ruins, interior and exterior views of Mayan tombs, hieroglyphs and drawings found on the walls of Maya temples have been made into engravings and reproduced in this edition. 669 pages.

INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN YUCATAN
John Lloyd Stephens. Condensation of the 1843 work by Karl Ackerman.
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996.
This new single-volume edition focuses on the dozen well-travelled sites that Stephens documented most thoroughly; it omits descriptions of the voyages to and from Mexico, and long historical and political digressions. Enhanced with a selection of original Catherwood drawings, as well as photographs from the 1860s to the present.
Merida / Mayapan and Uxmal /Halacho and Maxcuni / Uxmal: Explorations / Uxmal and Ticul / Uxmal: The Survey / Journey to Kabah / Kabah / Sayil / Labna / Bolonchen and Dzibilnocac /Mani / Chichen Itza / Valladolid to Cozumel / Tulum /Izamal and Ake. Index.286 pp.

INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS AND YUCATAN: in two volumes
John L. Stephens. Original edition 1841. Unabridged reprint, Dover, 1969.
In this book Stephens describes the excitement of exploring the magnificent ruined cities of Copan and Palenque, and his briefer excursions to Quirigua, Patinamit, Utatlan, Gueguetenango, Ocosingo and Uxmal.
His account of his attempt to buy the site of Copan for $50 is told with the adroitness of a Mark Twain. As well as Catherwood's illustrations, this volume includes Catherwood's Biographical Notice of Stephens, and eight illustrations from the London one-volume edition of 1854. 898 pages.

SEARCH FOR THE MAYA: The Story of Stephens & Catherwood
Victor W. von Hagen. [1973] Reprinted with corrections, Saxon House, 1974.
Before 1840, no one really knew who the Maya were or where they came from. In 1839 Stephens and Catherwood hacked their way through the jungle of Central America to explore and discover the remains of the mysterious Maya civilization. Stephens, an American lawyer, was an unusually fine writer, and Catherwood, an English architect, was an accomplished artist.Victor von Hagen's biographical account traces the eventful lives of the two protagonists as explorers in Egypt and the Middle East, and on their arduous journey to the heart of the ancient Maya civilization. 365 pages.

THE LOST CITIES OF THE MAYAS: The life, art and discoveries of Frederick Catherwood
Fabio Bourbon. Swan Hill Press, 1999.
Catherwood's full biography is complemented by historical and architectural notes and large-format reproductions of lithographs Catherwood produced between 1840-1843 to illustrate the travel diaries of his two expeditions. Includes rare masterpiece Views of Ancient Monuments in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan. 200pp.

THE NEW ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ANCIENT MAYA
Jeremy A. Sabloff. Freeman, 1990.
In the last thirty years archaeology has experienced a revolution in outlook and technique. As a new generation of archaeologists has become interested in culture change, their discoveries - aided by the use of high-tech instruments, chemical analyses, and new sampling strategies - have revised many of the notions held by an earlier generation. Using the ancient Maya as a case study, Sabloff demonstrates how new kinds of field work and recent intellectual shifts have given birth to a radically different view of the Maya. He shows how archaeologists have expanded their discipline from an enterprise of impressionistic accounts and lists of dates into one that tries rigorously to explain why cultures change. Further readings; sources; index. 193 pages.

THE WORLD OF THE MAYA
Vittoria Calvani. Minerva, 1976.
Puts forward the view that the Maya had no real towns, that the ruins were mainly centres where the populace assembled on certain occasions while living in huts on the edge of the forest. Stresses the role of the priesthood, sees their functions including astrology, medicine and trade as well as worship, and organising the practice of human sacrifice. 144 pages.

MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOHISTORY
Edited by Norman Hammond & Gordon R. Willey. Univ. of Texas Press, 1979.
Fourteen papers selected from the Second Cambridge Symposium on Recent Research in Mesoamerican Archaeology, August 1976.
Theoretical Interpretations: Priests, Peasants, and Ceremonial Centers / Cropping Cash in theProtoclassic /A New Order and the Role of the Calendar / Teotihuacan, internal militaristic competition and the fall of the Classic Maya / Why the Maya kept the Short Count. Data Presentations: Prehistoric settlement at Copan / Prehispanic terracing in the Central Maya Lowlands / Maya Vase Painting / Palenque painting techniques / The Lagartero Figurines. Ethnohistoric Approaches: Lobil Postclassic Phase / Coapa, Chiapas: A 16thC Coxoh Maya / Religious Syncretism in Colonial Yucatan / Continuity in Maya writing. Bibliography; General index; Author index. 292pp.

THE WORLD OF THE ANCIENT MAYA
John S. Henderson. [1981] New Edition: John Murray, 1998
Explores the ancient Maya from the earliest traces of settlement to the Conquest in the 16th century, covering the full range of culture and the interaction between different Maya societies. Roots of Mesoamerican civilisation / Foundations of Maya civilisation / Early Classic Period / Late Classic Period / Terminal Classic Period / New orientations: Postclassic Maya / Perspectives on the Maya. Guide to Pronunciation; Chronological chart; Bibliography; Index. 329pp.

MAYA: THE RIDDLE AND RE-DISCOVERY OF A LOST CIVILIZATION
Charles Gallenkamp. Frederick Muller, 1960.
The rise and decline of the Maya for the general reader. Has Brief Chronology of the significant events of Mayan history; bibliography; index. Drawings by John Skolle, and endpapers showing Archaeological Sites in the Maya Area, by J. Macdonald. 219 pages.

MAYA HISTORY & RELIGION
J. Eric S. Thompson. [1970: Vol.99 in Civilisation of the American Indian series] University of Oklahoma Press, pbk, 1990.
Putun expansion in Yucatan / Mayan Central Area at the Spanish Conquest and later: A problem in demography / Eastern boundary of the Mayan area: Placements and displacements / Tobacco / Trade relations between Highlands & Lowlands / Lowland Maya religion: Worship - Major gods - Less known and alien gods / Mayan creation myths. References; Index. 415 pp.

THE MAYA
Michael D. Coe. [1966] Revised & enlarged edition, Thames & Hudson, 1980.
Field archaeology has contributed to changing perceptions of ancient Maya civilization, particularly the discovery that quite intensive systems of agriculture were sometimes practiced in Classic times; this has necessitated a revision of our ideas about Mayan population density and settlement patterns. Other field research has pushed back the dates for earliest village life in the lowlands. There have been exciting advances in the fields of Maya hieroglyphic writing and iconography, and a virtual explosion in comprehension of dynastic history, much of this research centring upon the written records of Palenque. Bibliography; list of illustrations; index. 180 pages.

THE MAYA (Fourth Edition, Fully Revised)
Michael D. Coe. [1987]: Thames & Hudson, paperback reprint, 1992.
200 pages

THE MAYA
Norman Hammond. [1982 originally published by Rutgers UP] New edition:
The Folio Society,2000.
This edition follows text of 1994 reprinting with further minor emendations and a new introduction by the author. Discovery / Precursors & Successors / Maya Lands & their people /Flowering and Fall / Subsistence & Settlement / Structure of Society / Politics & Kingship / Trade & external contacts / Architecture & Art / Men & Gods / The Maya Mind. Further Reading; Index. 297 pp.

THE MAYA: Life, Myth and Art
Timothy Laughton. Duncan Baird Publishers, 1998.
Captures the achievements of a lost civilisation through the marriage of word and image: Image and imagination / Forest, Earth, and Stone / Time, Fate, and Prophecy /Faces of the Divine / Symbol, Myth, and Cosmos / Images of Sacrifice and Ritual. Glossary; Index. 144pp.

THE RUINS OF TIME: Four and a half centuries of conquest and discovery among the Maya
David Adamson. George Allen & Unwin/BCA, 1975.
Maya archaeology has had more than its share of eccentrics and advanturers: Lord Kingsborough, the bogus Comte de Waldeck, Col. John Galindo, British officers racing through the jungle from Belize to beat their presumed rival, John Lloyd Stephens... Adamson describes the adventures and discoveries of early and contemporary travellers, and the attempts to unravel the mystery of the Mayan hieroglyphs. Bibliography; index. 272 pages.

MAYA CITIES: Placemaking and Urbanization
George F. Andrews. University of Oklahoma Press, 1975.
The author, architect and photographer, turns a trained eye on a representative cross-section of Classic Maya settlements. Settlements are viewed as an organisation of 'places' which human beings constructed as a means of giving visible form to the ideas held about nature, themselves, and the universe as a whole. 'Placemaking' can then be seen as the direct expression of the Mayas creating a useful and comprehensible humanised environment. First part of the book discusses Maya architecture and settlements in general, shows how small ceremonial centres developed into large cities. Second part describes and analyses twenty settlements from all parts of the Maya area, with emphasis on physical form & spatial organisation, and basic differences between ceremonial centres and urban centres clearly set forth. Bibliography; index. 468 pages.

MAYA RUINS IN CENTRAL AMERICA IN COLOR: Tikal, Copan, and Quirigua
William M. Ferguson & John Q. Royce. University of New Mexico, 1984.
Focussing on architectural grandeur of Tikal, Copan and Quirigua, now that each site has been partially restored and the ruins made into national parks, each containing numerous buildings, monuments, and sculptures.
Appendices: Key to pronunciation; Tikal chronology; Cameras, film and aerial
photography; Chronological table. Bibliography; Index. 387 pages.

COPAN: Home of the Mayan Gods
Francis Robicsek. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1972.
In Honduras, about a mile east of the modern town of Copan, are the magnificent Copan ruins, one of the most beautiful centres of the Classic Maya. Book gives a detailed description of Copan, spiritual capital of the Classic Maya, presents recent investigations of the ruins yet standing, the art treasures in place and scattered, and the civilisation which created them. Bibliography; index; and appendix of hieroglyphs. 168 pages.

TIKAL, CITY OF THE MAYA
James & Oliver Tickell. Tauris Parke Books, 1991.
Tikal, greatest of all the Classic Maya cities, between the third and ninth centuries AD was at the centre of a civilisation that stretched across the tropical lowlands of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. This book brings Tikal as it was at its most powerful, and as it is now, an eerie ruined city in the threatened jungle. Photography by Francesco Venturi. Travellers' information; Chronology; index. 128 pages.

THE LORDS OF TIKAL: Rulers of an ancient Maya city
Peter D. Harrison. Thames & Hudson, 1999.
The Maya & their civilization / Tikal discovered / Villages around the ridge: the Middle Preclassic /The move into greatness: the Late Preclassic / The birth of dynasties: the Early Classic emerges / Change and challenge: the end of the Early Classic / Architecture at Tikal / The hiatus: war and outside dominance / Return of the clan Jaguar Claw - the genius of Hasaw Chan K'awil / A family affair: Hasaw's descendants / The last three Lords / Late Classic architecture, city planning, and the growth of Tikal / Decline and fall: the last days. Visiting Tikal; Bibliography; Index. 208pp.

SCRIBES, WARRIORS AND KINGS: The City of Copan & the Ancient Maya
William L. Fash. Thames & Hudson, 1991.
After a century of research at the site, an international team of scholars is solving the puzzle of Copan and the ancient Maya, helped by decipherment of the inscriptions and new tomb finds. Bibliography; index. 192 pages.

LOST CITIES OF THE MAYA
Claude Baudez & Sydney Picasso. [Gallimard 1987]. English translation Thames & Hudson, 1992.
A "retelling of the story of Mayan discovery... up-dated, with romantic conjecture giving way to scientific fact". Conquistadors & missionaries / Artists and adventurers / Age of the Scholars / Photographer-Explorers / Symbols in stone / From image to reality / Documents. Further reading; index. 176 pages.

THE MAGNIFICENT MAYA
Time-Life Books, 1993.
Cities buried in forests, desolate, without a name / Gods, blood, and kings / Royalty and the seeds of doom / Yucatan, where the lucky days ran out. Timeline. Bibliograhy; index. 168 pages.

THE BRITISH AND THE MAYA
Elizabeth Carmichael. British Museum, 1973.
Booklet compiled for exhibition at Museum of Mankind, indicating the contribution of British travellers an scholars in the field of Mayan archaeology. Material on Edward King, Juan Galindo, John Herbert Caddy, Frederick Catherwood, Alfred Percival Maudslay, Adela Catherine Breton, Thomas Gann, Thomas Athol Joyce, John Eric Sidney Thompson, Adrian Digby, Ian Graham, and Norman Hammond. Bibliography. 56 pages.

MAYA JADES
Adrian Digby. British Museum, 1972.
Many famous pieces are casual finds without archaeological documentation, and the numerous specimens found under controlled conditions cannot be dated with any certainty or attributed to any particular locality, since they must often have been treasured for many generations before being buried in graves or votive caches. The major source for material discussed is the collection in the Ethnography Department of the British Museum. Bibliographical note. 16 plates, 32 pages.

MAYA HIEROGLYPHS WITHOUT TEARS
J. Eric S. Thompson. British Museum, 1972.
The Maya system comprises approximately 350 main signs, 370 affixes, and about 100 portrait glyphs, principally of deities.... It is remarkable that so many glyphs remain undeciphered in view of the fact that the language the glyphs express is known and is spoken to this day, allowing for time shifts. A partial explanation is that most Maya ritual terms and religious imagery, unrecorded in Maya-Spanish dictionaries, were lost with the disappearance of the Maya hierarchy. Index. 84 pages.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF MAYA HIEROGLYPHS
Sylvanus Griswold Morley. Dover, 1975.
Unabridged republication of Bulletin 57 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1915. A new introduction and bibliography prepared specially for this edition by J.Eric S.Thompson. He notes that the title is a misnomer; the contents cover only that part of the glyphs, important as it is, pertaining to the Maya calendar. Index. 284 pages.

BREAKING THE MAYA CODE
Michael D. Coe. Thames & Hudson, 1992.
Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov published his proof that the Mayan writing system was rational and phonetic in 1952.While isolated by the Soviet system, it gave him, unwittingly, the freedom to think unencumbered; he knew how the writing-systems of the Old World worked, and had not been brainwashed into believing that the New World was different. Since ancient writing grows up to meet ad hoc needs, the result is normally logosyllabic, a mixture of idea-signs and phonetic elements in combinations. Ambiguity is still possible, but is increasingly avoided. Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform behave in this way. Purely phonetic scripts - syllabaries and alphabets - also exist, but a count of the signs used in the Mayan system makes it unlikely that the script was anything but a mixed one. This was the basis of Knorosov's decipherment. Sir Eric Thompson, convinced that the script on the monuments was decorative and mystical, taught this as dogma.... A second generation, freed from presupposition, now develops the insights of Knorosov. Far from being the simple, peace-loving star-gazers of Thompson's imagination, the Maya emerge as a more complex culture: obsessed with warfare, dynastic rivalries and ritual blood-letting, yet creators of supreme masterpieces in art and architecture. Appendices: Proskouriakoff's Suggested Order of Discussion and The Maya Syllabic Chart. Glossary; bibliography; index. 304 pages.

THE ART OF THE MAYA SCRIBE
Michael D. Coe & Justin Kerr. Thames & Hudson, 1997.
The artist-calligrapher enjoyed a high status in Classic Maya society. So important were the scribes that they lived in their own palaces and worshipped their own patron gods. Their achievements are displayed in stone, stucco, wood, shell, bone, murals and screenfold books, and painted or carved on magnificent ceramic vessels placed as offerings to the dead and to the gods. Michael Coe considers the origins and character of the script, explores the world of the scribes and 'keepers of the holy books', decoding their depiction in Mayan art, and examines the media in which they worked, their tools, and their techniques. These great masterpieces are vividly interpreted by the photographs of Justin Kerr.
The Maya Universe / The Maya Script / The World of the Maya Scribes / How the Maya wrote: tools & techniques / The Maya Books / The Splendour of Maya Calligraphy / End of the Calligraphic Tradition / Epilogue.
Before Epigraphy: Forerunners of the Great Decipherment; notes; bibliography;
List of illustrations; index. 240pp.

MAYA SCRIPT: A Civilization and its Writing
Maria Longhena. Abbeville Press, 2000.
Presents about 200 of the recently deciphered Mayan glyphs - some are ideograms, others are phonetic signs.
In search of a people / Life at court / Symbols / Religion / The calendar / Astronomy / Life and thought / Writing systems of the New World.
Further reading; Index. 180pp.

MONUMENTS OF CIVILIZATION: MAYA
Pierre Ivanoff. [1970] Cassell, 1973.
Covers the Classic Period sites - Tikal, Copan, Quirigua, Seibal, Dos Pozos, Yaxchilan, Palenque, Bonampak - and post-Classic sites - Chichen-Itza, Mayapan, Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, Xlapak, Labna, Tulum and Dzibilchaltun. Appendices: The Monuments Through The Ages, Chronological Chart, Glossary, index. 191 pages.

A FOREST OF KINGS: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya
Linda Schele & David Freidel. William Morrow & Co Inc, 1990.
With the decipherment of their writing system, the Maya joined the world's great pristine civilisations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and China, on the stage of world history. A picture emerges, of not only a civilsation, but of a world view and the individuals that cherished that view. All great events in the lives of rulers were recorded on public monuments; wives and courtiers sought a place in history through commissioning monuments of their own. Kings and nobles marked objects of all types with their names, and artists and sculptors signed their work so that future generations could honour them. The relics speak to us of the personal histories of the people who made them. This new American history resounds with the names of heroes, kings, queens, princes, warriors, priests, artists, and scribes and the deeds and accomplishments of their lives. Glossary of gods and icons; index. 541 pages.

THE LOST CHRONICLES OF THE MAYA KINGS
David Drew. Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1999.
Recently, major advances in decipherment have begun to shed a whole new light on the Maya world and those who ruled it. This is "an interim summary for a general audience".
Notes; bibliography; index. 450 pp.

CHRONICLE OF THE MAYA KINGS AND QUEENS: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya
Simon Martin & Nikolai Grube. Thames & Hudson, 2000.
Discovering the Maya past / History; writing & calendars; Royal culture; Classic Politics; Comparative Timelines /Tikal / Dos Pilas / Naranjo / Caracol / Calakmul / Yaxchilan / Piedras Negras / Palenque / Tonina / Copan / Quirigua. Epilogue: Fall of the Divine Kings; Notes & Bibliography; Index. 240 pp.

THE CONQUEST OF THE LAST MAYA KINGDOM
Grant D. Jones. Stanford UP, US, 1998.
In 1521Cortes stood victor in the ruins of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire, less than two years after landing in Veracruz. A decade later Pizarro set off on his third attempt to penetrate the Inca Empire in Peru; he climbed into the Andes in 1532, and in less than two months had seized both Atahualpa and his imperium. The Maya were a different case altogether - when the troops of Martin de Ursua finally stormed the Itza capital of Nojpeten in 1697, the struggle between invaders and invaded had lasted more than 150 years... The Aztec and Inca empires were centralised states; both Cortes and Pizarro carried out coups d'état, seizing the ruler and with him the levers of power. The Maya were always politically fragmented: from the emergence of Preclassic Maya civilisation in the first millennium BC there were competing kingdoms, a mosaic of fractious statelets, each as happy to fight with the newcomers as with their neighbours.
The Itza World / Road to the Itzas / The Peace Seekers / Prelude to Conquest / Victims & Survivors of Conquest / Missions, Rebellion, and Survival.
Notes; Glossary; References cited; Index. 539 pp.

MAYA COSMOS: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path
David Friedel, Linda Schele & Joy Parker. William Morrow, 1993.
The ancient Maya were sophisticated astronomers and astrologers, with a mathematically intricate system of time and remarkably accurate and detailed calendars. The authors demonstrate how this system was linked to their religion: hieroglyphs and carvings are shown to be representations of constellations and religious myths associated with them. And these myths are still very much alive in present-day Mexico and Guatemala. The way that Mayan farmers arrange their fields, for example, is directly related to the ancient creation myth. The Maya cosmos was peopled with exotic creatures of all sorts , and the objects and places in their physical world acquired dangerous power as they interacted with the supernatural. Order in their cosmos was not accidental or distant from human affairs. The continued well-being of the universe required the active participation of the human community through ritual. Glossary of Gods and Icons; References; index. 542 pages.

THE SHAMAN'S SECRET: The Lost Resurrection Teachings of the Ancient Maya
Douglas Gillette. Bantam Books, 1997.
Through ritual, sacrifice, and altered states of consciousness, the Maya developed a remarkable resurrection technology - precise encoded instructions for preserving the essence of the human spirit after death. Rediscovering a lost world / A terrible beauty / A Living Cosmos / Blood and Ecstasy / Creations of the Lightning Serpent / God; the Soul;The Shaman's Secret; Death / Trials of Xibalba / Ballgame and human scrifice / Resurrection. Time Line for the Maya area; Family Tree of the Maya Gods; Glossary; Select Bibliography; Index. 278 pp.

A STUDY OF MAYA ART: Its Subject Matter & Historical Development
Herbert J. Spinden. Dover, 1975.
Unabridged republication of Vol. VI, Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology & Ethnology, 1913. A new introduction by J. Eric S. Thompson reviews the life and work of Spinden (1879-1967).
Spinden offers the first cartography of the range of Maya art, the first understanding of its subject matter, and the first appreciation of the alien aesthetics that underlie its manifestations. He considers the basic religious and philosophical ideas of Mayan art, and then town planning, structural architecture, carved altars, stelae, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, jewelry, shell-work, stone carving, and even the few surviving Maya manuscripts.
Table of Nomenclature; bibliography; index. 285 pages.

THE ART OF THE MAYA
Ferdinand Anton. [1968] Translated Mary Whittall 1970. Reprinted Thames & Hudson, 1978.
A photographic study of the range of Maya art; 299 plates, with notes, drawings, rubbings, plans and maps. Text outlines mythical origins, describes the formative culture, the move into a classic culture from the second century AD. (Mentions mistake in calendar inscription on stela E at Quiriguà--p.47). The transition from Classic to Postclassic, from priestly power to military.
Bibliography; index.344 pages.

THE ART OF THE MAYA
Henri Stierlin. Evergreen, 1981.
A photographic essay on the Maya: the sites, surroundings, monuments, museum pieces and collections. Stierlin attempts to establish a connection between the Maya and their forerunners, the Olmecs. Bibliography; List of plates; List of figures, maps and plans; index. 216 pages.

THE MAYA: Palaces and Pyramids of the Rainforest
Henri Stierlin. Benedikt Taschen, 1997.
New research in deciphering Mayan hieroglyphics is used as the key to unlock the mystery of Mayan architecture: computer-aided reconstructions, plans, and chronological tables place architectural developments within the context of historical events.
The Maya enter History / Architectural language of the Maya / Tikal - a jungle metropolis / Golden Age of Palenque / A Neglected Chapter - Rio Bec & Chenes Styles / Uxmal - the Puuc style in Yucatan / Diversity of the Yucatec Cities / Chichén-Itzá - Capital of the Toltec-Maya / Decline and Fall.
Chronological Table; Glossary; Bibliography; Index. 237 pages.

FROM THE MOUTH OF THE DARK CAVE: Commemorative Sculpture of the late Classic Maya
Karen Bassie-Sweet. University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
The southern lowlands of the Maya region are honeycombed with caves formed by the erosive action of underground rivers. With their dramatic dripwater formations, winding tunnels, and huge caverns, these caves played a major role in the ideology and world view of the Classic Maya. Considered to be the home of ancestors and of deities associated with the sun, moon, rain, wind, and corn, caves were a portal between the tangible human world and the invisible world of the gods, at which the Maya performed their most sacred rituals. Text & Image: their relationship / The Cave / The Cave Passage / Caves associated with the Palenque Triad / The Maya World View / Pre-accession Themes / Epilogue. Appendix: The Genealogy of the Palenque Rulers. References; Index. 287 pp.

THE AZTECS

THE WORLD OF THE AZTECS
William H. Prescott. Minerva, 1974.
An evocation of the Aztecs and their Empire / Aztec nobility; Judicial system; Laws and revenues; Military institutions /Mythology: the sacerdotal order; Temples; Human sacrifice / Hieroglyphics / Agriculture; mechanical arts; merchants; domestic manners / Tezucans: their Golden age; accomplished princesses; decline of the monarchy. Appendix: Origin of the Mexican civilization - analogies with the Old World. Index. 156 pages.

FEATHERED SERPENT AND SMOKING MIRROR: Gods and Fate in Ancient Mexico
Cottie Burland & Werner Forman. Orbis 1975
A dark fatalism pervades the history of ancient Mexico. Over thousands of years a succession of highly developed cultures emerged, their cities dominated by massive pyramids dedicated to blood-thirsty gods. Yet for all their power and sophistication, the final Mexican empire was destroyed by a mere handful of gold-seeking Spanish invaders. Mexican fatalism found its deepest expression in the fundamental duality of two of the greatest Aztec gods: Feathered Serpent, representing conscious thought and intelligence, and Smoking Mirror, symbolizing the sinister stirrings of the unconscious mind. The militaristic Aztecs, under the patronage of Smoking Mirror, established the greatest of all ancient Mexican empires, but their astrologer-priests predicted that Feathered Serpent would one day return to take his vengeance. On the date predicted for the return of the god, Cortes and his conquistadors landed on the eastern coasts of their empire. Glossary; Chronology; Bibliography; Index. 128 pages.

CORTES AND THE AZTEC CONQUEST
Irwin R. Blacker. [1965] British edition, Cassell Caravel, 1966.
In three years, 1519 to 1522, Cortes and a few hundred Spanish soldiers overcame a centuries-old empire that could put tens of thousands of warriors into the field. Even after his god-like reputation had been shattered, and his horses and cannon were no longer regarded as supernatural, his ruthless daring took him on to victory.Yet in the end his prize was not the gold that he had sought, but the destruction of an entire civilization.Illustrated with paintings, drawings and artifacts of the period. Index. 153 pages.

AZTECS OF MEXICO: origin, rise, and fall of the Aztec Nation
George C. Vaillant / revised by Suzannah B. Vaillant. [1944/1962] Penguin/BCA, 1975.
In the eleventh century AD the Aztecs arrived in Mexico from the north. In less than a hundred years they developed an extraordinary civilization. Dr Vaillant discusses the basic beliefs of Aztec society in relation to government, education and law, and takes us on a conducted tour of Tenochtitlan in the heyday of its power. The thorough revision by his wife makes it the most important account of a great civilization. Bibliography; index. 363 pages.

THE AZTECS: Rise and Fall of an Empire
Serge Gruzinski. Translated Paul G. Bahn. Gallimard 1987. Thames & Hudson, 1992.
A refined society, monumental architecture, powerful sculpture, magnificently illustrated codices, fine goldwork, and brilliant feathered costumes. Plus mass human sacrifice and bloodthirsty warriors. How did these two contradictory aspects co-exist in one people? Documentation; chronology; list of illustrations; index. 192 pages.

THE AZTECS
Michael E. Smith. Blackwell, 1996.
Aztecs of Mesoamerica / Rise of Aztec Civilisation / People on the Landscape / Artisans and their wares /Merchants, markets, and money / Family and social class / City-State & Empire / Cities & urban planning / Creation, sacrifice and the Gods / Science and Art / Final glory and destruction / The Aztec legacy today.
Glossary of Nahuatl terms; Index. 360 pp.

DAILY LIFE OF THE AZTECS on the eve of the Spanish Conquest
Jacques Soustelle. [1955]. Penguin, 1972.
Soustelle describes the elaborate and sophisticated way of life that disappeared for ever with the Spanish conquest of Mexico: the art, architecture, religious observance, knowledge of astronomy, and system of government. Index. 302 pp.

AZTECS: Reign of Blood & Splendor
Time-Life Books, 1992.
The fall of the City "Precious as Jade" / People in search of a past / The terrible sustenance of the Gods / The gentler side of Aztec life. Timeline. Bibliography; index. 168 pages.

THE GREAT TEMPLE OF THE AZTECS: Treasures of Tenochtitlan
Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. [1988] Thames & Hudson, pbk, 1994.
After Cortes' conquest in 1521, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was levelled and its Great Temple demolished. Soon even the location of the old cult centre was lost - until 1978, when tunneling for Mexico City's subway system unearthed clues that led to the rediscovery of the Great Temple and the most spectacular excavations ever conducted in Mexico.
The City of Mexico past and present / Aztecs in history / Archaeology of the Great Temple / Treasures from the Great Temple / Aztec myth & the Great Temple / Tenochtitlan and its inhabitants / The destruction of Tenochtitlan.
Chronological table; Glossary; Bibliography; Index. 192 pp.

THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO
Hugh Thomas. Hutchinson, 1993.
The encounter between two cultures and two extraordinary men, Cortes and Montezuma, is one of the important events in history. This is a scholarly account drawn from new material from the archives of Seville, but information from the Aztec side is inevitably limited; the book as a whole does not change the conventional interpretation of what happened, except to bring out the importance of the anti-Aztec alliances which Cortes put together. Appendices on the population of old Mexico, summary of Montezuma's tribute, Mexican calendars, Spanish money c.1520, and Cortes' ladies. Genealogies; Unpublished documents; Sources; index. 812 pages.

THE AZTECS
Nigel Davies. [1973 - originally published by Macmillan] New edition: The Folio Society, 2000
Emphasis is on the last period before the Conquest: we are separated from the time of the Aztecs by fewer centuries than those which divide the latter from some of the greatest vestiges of the Mexican past.
Chronology of Principal Events - 1111 to 1521AD / The Long Migration / Early Rulers / The Obsidian Serpent / Moctezuma I - The Empire takes shape / A New Era / Lion of Anahuac / A Man in his Prime / Setting Sun / Aztec Aftermath. A tentative genealogy of the Royal Dynasty of Tenochtitlan / The principal deities of the Mexican Pantheon. Notes; Bibliography; Index. 374 pp.

THE AZTECS: Rise and Fall of an Empire
Serge Gruzinski. [Gallimard 1987] English translation, Thames & Hudson, 1992.
Tula or the Mirage of Civilization / The Empire Builders / The Aztecs conquer the world / Clash of two worlds / From resistance to collaboration / The aftermath of the Conquest / Documents, Chronology; Index. 192pp.

THIS TREE GROWS OUT OF HELL: Mesoamerica and the Search for the Magical Body
Ptolemy Tomkins. HarperCollins, 1990
Tomkins traces the roots of the Mesoamerican universe in the shamanic practices of America's early inhabitants. The World Tree or Wacah Chan is the central axis of the world; trees are living organisms of three interacting parts - roots, trunk and branches - needed for the whole to flourish. Similarly, the tripartite world of over-, middle- and Otherworld comprised the universe of the ancient Mesoamerican, and demanded similar continuous fruitful interaction. The pantheons of each culture were enormous and subject to variation at each particular site. The better-known gods have, in addition, a maddening tendency to shift constantly into one another, and acquire new multisyllabic names. Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed or Feathered Serpent of the Aztecs, could be variously envisioned as one of several celestial dragons, animalistic god-avatars, or dimly historical human personages, all of these manifestations lacking any immediately discernable similarities in terms of character or function. And this describes the problems of interpretation just within the boundaries of Aztec culture - a boundary within which Quetzalcoatl certainly did not remain. Follow the permutations of this god-complex back into the hazy realms of his birth and the difficulty of arriving at a clear conception of just this one, comparatively well-documented god, becomes apparent. Bibliography; index. 190 pages.

THE INCAS & ANDES CIVILISATIONS

THE GOLD OF EL DORADO: The Quest for the Golden Man
Victor Wolfgang von Hagen. [1974]. Paladin, 1978.
The adventurers exploring the New World were fascinated by the whispers of treasure beyond belief somewhere in the mountains of Columbia. There, said the tales, lived a people whose chief, once a year, as part of a religious ritual, covered himself with gold dust - El Dorado, the Golden Man. The collective madness of the search for the Golden Man lasted for a full century. Bibliography; index. 346 pages.

THE SEARCH FOR EL DORADO
Time-Life Books, 1994.
The Golden Enchantment of South America / The Chavin: builders of Giant Wonders; The Moche: a people raised from the grave; The Paracas and Nazca Cultures: glowing achievements in a desert. Timeline. Bibliography; index. 168 pages.

INCAS: Lords of Gold and Glory
Time-Life Books, 1992.
A violent clash of alien cultures / An empire built by a man called Earthshaker / Borrowers of Greatness / Lives of hard work and joyous play. Timeline. Bibliography; index. 168 pages.

REALM OF THE INCAS
Victor Wolfgang von Hagen. [1957]. NEL/Mentor, 1963.
Von Hagen traces the growth of a mighty nation, from a primitive settlement in an Andean valley to a comples welfare state linking more than two million people.Unaided by the art of writing, , without knowledge of the wheel, the Incas united their subjects with a common language, with royal roads, huge agricultural projects, imposing temples. Bibliography; index. 223 pages.

THE WORLD OF THE INCAS: A Socialistic State of the Past
Otfrid von Hanstein. Translated Anna Barwell. George Allen & Unwin, 1924.
The beginnings of the Inca kingdom: Manco Capac and his sister Oello, chosen as messengers by the Supreme Creator, leave Tiahuanaco to found the realm of the Four Suns--Tahuantinsuyu. Stretching down the Andean backbone, it was the biggest native state to arise in the western hemisphere, yet fell easily to the invading Conquistadors--weakened by internal dissension and the spread of smallpox brought from the Old World. No index. 189 pages.

THE INCAS AND THEIR ANCESTORS: The archaeology of Peru
Michael E. Moseley. Thames & Hudson, 1992.
The glittering culture of the Inca obscured the rich and diverse civilizations that preceded it: Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Tiwanaku, Huari and Chimu. More intensive research into this heritage has been carried out during the last generation than previously. Moseley presents a major synthesis of these important new findings. Andean prehistory can be understood only in terms of human adaptations to extraordinary environmental extremes. Moche and Chimu civilizations grew up along the narrow coastal desert, susceptible to periodic cataclysmic flooding or drought. Tiwanaku and Huari flourished in the harsh highlands. Not until the 15th century were these maritime and mountain worlds united by the Incas in a single empire. And yet there was a constant interchange, for thousands of years, between coast and uplands, fostering the rapid dissemination of the famous Chavin art style, and the widespread adoption of mummification of the dead. Bibliography; index.272 pages.

THE INCAS
Nigel Davies. [1995 UP of Colorado, with first 5 chapters from 1997 Ancient Kingdoms of Peru, Penguin] New edition, Folio Society, 2000.
Ancient pre-Inca kingdoms: Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Tiahuanaco and Huari, Chimu / The first of the Incas / Era of Pachacutec / Last conquerors / Inca State / The Empire and its infrastructure / The Imperial System / Decline and Fall.
Appendix: Résumé of campaigns of Tupac Inca and Huayna Capac as related by Sarmiento de Gamboa and Cabello de Balboa. Bibliography; Index. 389pp.

PERU BEFORE PIZARRO
George Bankes. Phaidon, 1977.
Spanish expeditions under Pizarro and his fellow conquistadors were the first to bring back booty of an advanced civilization in Peru. Bankes puts together an intricate picture of life in ancient Peru, and of the singularities of terrain and climate that shaped it. Complex irrigation schemes and terracing indicate a long tradition of intensive agriculture. Its success is evident from the grandeur of the cities it supported - among them such architectural legends as Machu Picchu, Chan Chan and the Inca capital of Cuzco itself. Index. 208 pages.

MACHU PICCHU
John Hemming. Newsweek, 1981.
Machu Picchu is the Lost City of the Incas, discovered in 1911 by the explorer Hiram Bingham. At first identified as Vilcabamba (which was located in the 1960s even deeper within the Amazonian rain forest) this is one of the finest aggregation of Inca buildings in all of Peru. Chronology of the Conquest; Guide to Machu Picchu; Bibliography; index. 172 pages.

KINGDOM OF THE SUN GOD: A History of the Andes and their People
Ian Cameron. Random Century/Guild, 1990.
Describes how the mountains were formed, how hunter-gatherers arrived from North America and the sowing of maize led to the development of ayllus, village communes which have been a key factor in Andean life. The early civilizations were conquered by the Incas, who created a practical welfare state that was almost half the size of Europe yet fell before a rabble of 160 Spanish adventurers. In the early 19th century revolutionary wars finally freed the people of the Andes from Spanish suzerainty. Index. 224 pages.

CHAVIN AND THE ORIGINS OF ANDEAN CIVILIZATION
Richard L. Burger. [1992] Thames & Hudson , pbk, 1995.
Peruvian chronology / The setting and changing environment / The Late Preceramic and beginnings of Peruvian civilisation / Initial Period Societies: Coastal, in the Highlands, and Montane Forest / The early ceremonial centre, and proto-urban centre of Chavin de Huántar / Florescence & collapse of Chavin civilization / Epilogue. Chronological chart; Radiocarbon dates; Bibliography; Index. 248 pp.

THE CITIES OF THE ANCIENT ANDES
Adriana von Hagen & Craig Morris. Thames & Hudson, 1998.
The Andean People and their Land / Cities for the Andes / Early Monumental Architecture in the Andes / Highland Center of Chavin de Huàntar / The First Cities / Imperial Cities: Wari & Tiwanaku /Cities of the Desert / City and countryside in the Inka Empire / Reconstructing life in the ancient cities.
Gazatteer; Further reading; Index. 240 pp.

ART OF EMPIRE: The Inca of Peru
Julie Jones. The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1964.
The art of Andean South America is one of the glories of the indigenous civilizations of this hemisphere. Developing styles and character so uniquely and richly its own, it presents an extremely complex picture. Centuries of painstaking development, years of interaction and influence, slowly evolved techniques, all culminate in the Inca era, an era of upheaval and change. The Inca empire ended more abruptly than it began, with the capture and death of Atahuallpa. Once Inca control was destroyed, ever-present local styles re-emerged. The frantic search for gold, an over-riding concern, brought matters to a quick conclusion. 56 pages.

PYRAMIDS OF TUCUME: The Quest for Peru's Forgotten City
Thor Heyerdahl, Daniel H. Sandweiss & Alfredo Narvaez. Jarrold, 1995.
The city of Tucume was first constructed nearly nine centuries ago by the
people of the Lambayeque culture. In Inca times the central height of the city,
a natural mountain called La Raya, was built over to become the largest semi-
artificial pyramid in the world. Bibliography; index. 240 pages.

BUILT BEFORE THE FLOOD: The Problem of the Tiahuanaco Ruins
H.S. Bellamy. Faber & Faber, 1943.
The Tiahuanaco Problem has been approached from practically one angle only - that of archaeology - and even this only in a very desultory manner. The various findings have served only to deepen the mystery which enshrouds the enigmatic remains of culture in the Bolivian Altiplano. An expedition, financed largely from German funds, was thwarted by the outbreak of war; Bellamy outlines the objects of such an expedition in the future. In the book, he raises the problem of the 'Inter-Andean Sea of the highest Strandline', and mentions Hoerbiger's theory of a 'girdle-tide' created by a predecessor of the Moon, a satellite that eventually broke up owing to gravitational stresses. There are many unmistakable evidences that Tiahuanaco was a harbour-city, but the shore of Lake Titicaca is now over 12 miles away. He complains that Tiahuanaco is probably the most mangled site known to archaeology, with remains pilfered by speculating builders from the time of the conquistadors. Bibliography; index. 144 pages.

PATHWAYS TO THE GODS: The Mystery of the Andes Lines
Tony Morrison. Incorporating the work of Gerald S. Hawkins.
Michael Russell/BCA, 1979.
Nasca has been the subject of considerable speculation. Morrison calls upon expert opinion in a variety of disciplines: Dr Gerald S. Hawkins and his computer-backed conclusions, the theories of the German mathematician Maria Reich, after half a lifetime studying the Nasca phenomenon. Bibliography; index. 208 pages.

LINES TO THE MOUNTAIN GODS: Nazca and the Mysteries of Peru
Evan Hadingham. Harrap, 1987.
More than 2000 years ago the people of Nazca began drawing giant designs on the desert floor; animals and birds, complex geometric designs, and lines that run dead straight for mile after mile. Why draw them on so vast a scale that they are scarcely visible from the flat desert floor, and how did they create them without modern surveying and geometry?
Hadingham investigates the new theories and sets the Nazca debate against
the latest research on ancient Peruvians and their achievements.
Bibliography; index. 307 pages.

NASCA: Eighth Wonder of the World?
Anthony F. Aveni. British Museum Press, 2000.
A mystery on the desert / Nasca in perspective / Nasca before Columbus / Rediscovering the Pampa / Sacred landscape: a Nasca for the New Millennium / Ley lines to labyrinths: Remaking the Earth beyond Nasca. Index. 257 pp.

THE LOST TOMB OF VIRACOCHA: Unlocking the secrets of the Peruvian Pyramids
Maurice Cotterell. Headline, 2001.
Inca accounts speak of legendary white gods who walked the lands of South America performing miracles. Cotterell claims to unlock the secrets of Tiahuanaco, and discovers the treasure-filled tombs of Viracocha Pachacamac and Viracocha in the long-lost pyramids of Peru.
The Mochica / The Incas / The Tiahuanacos / The Sun-Kings / Mysterious Lines of Nazca / The Amazing Lid of Palenque Sub-Transformer / Reincarnation.
Appendices: How the Sun determines personality / Reason for Asynchronous Menstruation / The Sun / Reincarnation. Bibliography; Index. 214 pp.

EXPLORATION FAWCETT
P.H. Fawcett. Hutchinson, 1953.
Arranged from his manuscripts, letters, log-books and records by Brian Fawcett. Decorations by Brian Fawcett. A border delimitation assignment on behalf of the Bolivian government in 1906 took him to Lake Titicaca and the Tiahuanaco ruins. Thereafter he led several hazardous expeditions in the Mato Grosso area in search of traces of ancient civilizations. Disappeared in 1925 near the Xingu river. Index/glossary. Endpapers show expedition routes. 312 pages.

NORTH AMERICA

500 NATIONS: an illustrated history of North American Indians.
Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. [1994] British edition, Hutchinson/Pimlico, 1995.
American history from the Native American point of view. Almost every community in Canada, US and Mexico was once an Indian community, and those communities before the arrival of the whites were part of hundreds of unique Indian nations that blanketed the entire continent. During the first millennium AD, Mayan rulers like Pacal at Palenque built powerful city-states in southern Mesoamerica, while other Indian nations created civilisations of their own in the highlands and valleys of Central Mexico and along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Coast. By about 500AD Teotihuacán had developed into America's first large urban area and the seat of a far-reaching military and economic area; its metropolitan population of almost 150,000 dwarfed that of Rome and all other European cities of the time. The loss of a homeland began when Columbus disembarked among the Arawaks, and came to a climax when the last group of Sioux moved on to a reservation following the battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. Index. 470 pages.

THE NATIVE TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA: A Concise Encyclopedia.
Michael Johnson. Windrow & Greene Ltd, 1993.
Essential information on the identity, kinships, locations and populations (both in aboriginal times and present day), and cultural characteristics of some 400 separately identifiable peoples, both extinct and surviving. Illustrated with regional maps, a selection of rare early photographs, and a portfolio of colour plates by Richard Hook. Glossary, bibliography; index. 210 pages.

THE AMERICAN INDIAN WARS
John Tebbel & Keith Jennison. [1960] Reprinted, in pbk, Phoenix Press, 2001.
Before the white man came, the vast region that is now the United States was inhabited by one million Indians, organized into six hundred distinct societies. The first meetings between Indians and white men in the South-East and along the Atlantic coast were not important historically in themselves, but kindled flames that blazed savagely for four centuries. The Indian nations, living in peace and prosperity for the most part, in spite of an intermittent but limited intertribal warfare, learned that the white invaders could not be trusted, and their object was not the peaceful intercourse of trade which the Indians offered them, but naked conquest. After four centuries of nearly continuous warfare the Indians were reduced numerically to less than four hundred thousand, their lands gone, and their homes a series of reservations in, for the most part, the western United States. This is the dramatic account of their wars of survival from 1500 -1900.
Bibliographical notes; index. 312 pages.

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN WARS
Richard H. Dillon. [1983] Reprinted, Magna Books, 1994.
As white colonists pushed eastern tribes farther back into the western tribes' lands, competition for hunting grounds bred larger wars between entire nations of Indians. Perhaps no other indigenous peoples have fought harder to preserve their ways of life as did the eastern Indians, and later tribes of the Plains and Prairies. Though ultimately defeated by superior weapons and the greater numbers of their enemies, the bravery and valour of their greatest warriors were impressed indelibly upon the myths of their conquerors. Indian population tables; chronology; index. 256 pages.

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS: Myths and Legends
Lewis Spence. Facsimile of the 1914 edition. Studio Editions, 1993.
Divisions, customs, and history of the Red Man; the mythologies of the North American Indians; myths and legends of the Algonquian, Iroquois, Sioux, Pawnees, Northern and Northwestern Indians. Bibliography; glossary & index. 393 pages.

MOUND BUILDERS & CLIFF DWELLERS
Time-Life Books, 1992.
The Adena and the Hopewell: A monumental Heritage / Temple Mound Builders: the High and the Mighty / The Southwest: Thriving in a pitiless domain / The Anasazi: Masters of the canyons and cliffs. Timeline. Bibliography; index. 168 pages.


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