Mesoamerican Archaeology
Theory and Practice
Rosemary A Joyce editor Julia A Hendon editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Published:11th Sep '03
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Offering an alternative to traditional textbooks, Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice places the reader in the middle of contemporary debates by top archaeologists actively exploring the major prehispanic societies of Central America.
- Offers a comprehensive introduction to the archaeology of Mesoamerica by focusing on key time periods, sites, and the issues these times and places require us to confront.
- Examines key moments in the Mesoamerican historical tradition, from the earliest villages where Olmec art flourished, to the Aztec and Maya City-states that Spanish invaders described in the 16th century.
- Engages the chronological benchmarks of precolumbian social development in Mesoamerica, such as the transition to village life, emergence of political stratification, and formation of Mesoamerican urban centers.
- Includes an extensive introduction by the editors that situates contemporary Mesoamerican archaeology in the broader terms of the social politics of archaeology.
For further resources to use with this book - including study questions, maps and photographs - visit the website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/BSGA/mesoam
"This is not the same old culture history but a respectable compilation of recent fieldwork and analysis within a framework of innovative problem-oriented research. Joyce's introductory chapter is a synthetic tour de force." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"With specially commissioned essays by leading scholars, this is an excellent up-to-date introduction to Mesoamerican archaeology." Oxbow Books
"In this volume archaeologists have, at last, a textbook on Mesoamerica that combines recent data with current social thought. The chapters are beautifully written and provocative, giving deeper insight into Mesoamerican cultural diversity without simplifying 5000 years into a single story. Hendon and Joyce have chosen contributors who are not just specialists, but who are some of the most exciting thinkers of our generation." K. Anne Pyburn, Indiana University
"Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice is an outstanding book. It is exactly what we’ve needed in the field for a very long time and should be used by everyone teaching a course in Mesoamerican archaeology. Hendon and Joyce have done an outstanding job of integrating fresh essays by leading scholars into a text that is both theoretically informed and empirically up to date. The combination of theory and data make it an indispensable work." Michael Love, California State University, Northridge
ISBN: 9780631230519
Dimensions: 255mm x 178mm x 25mm
Weight: 879g
368 pages