Volume I is a compendium of data from the former Reino de Guatemala prior to independence from Spain. Documentation from archives in Seville, Madrid & Central America. Markman provides a derrotero, a navigational chart, with "sailing instructions" to the scholar searching for elusive information. Text includes data difficult to access. Observance of "America 500." Bibliography & index. In English & Spanish. "This is without a doubt a true work of art. It is crafted to perfection, almost as precisely as if executed with the same rule & compass as were used to draw the plans of the Spanish towns. The information encourages Central American research." - Francisco de Solano, Centro de Estudios Historicos, Madrid. "I consider Professor Markman's new work of the utmost importance for all the scholars of the history of art in Latin America...This work will join those of Hanke, Whitaker, & Bolton." - Jose Antonio Calderon Quijano, Escuela de Estudios Hispano- Americanos, Sevilla. "This is a very important research work...one of the more valuable...contributions to the Quincentenial." - Antonio Bonet Correa, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid. The second of a two-volume work on the topic provides a helpful index to the scholar searching for elusive information on architecture & urbanization of colonial Central America. In many instances, Markman's illustrations provide the only visual evidence extant of colonial buildings & townscapes in Reino de Guatemala. ISBN 0- 87918-080-3. Order from Arizona State University-Center for Latin American Studies, Box 872401, Tempe, AZ 85287-2401; 602-965-5127.

Covers colonial architecture in the two westernmost provinces of the Reino de Guatemala: Audiencia & Capitania General -- a region largely isolated from the rest of Central America & Mexico until recent times. The buildings of this region (known as Chiapas) reflect the soc. that produced them: the geographical setting, the conquest & Christianization of the natives, & the ethnic composition of the population. 47 buildings are discussed supported by material from contemporary sources as well as by photos & measurements gathered on the sites. This catalog of archival texts will be useful not only to historians of art & architecture, but also to archaeologists, anthropologists, & ethnohistorians working in Chiapas. Photos & drawings.