Publisher description: The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Volume II: Mesoamerica (Part One), 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.

This work examines the world's indigenous peoples, their cultures, the countries in which they reside, and the issues that impact these groups.

A History of Indigenous Latin America is a comprehensive introduction to the people who first settled in Latin America, from before the arrival of the Europeans to the present. Indigenous history provides a singular perspective to political, social and economic changes that followed European settlement and the African slave trade in Latin America. Set broadly within a postcolonial theoretical framework and enhanced by anthropology, economics, sociology, and religion, this textbook includes military conflicts and nonviolent resistance, transculturation, labor, political organization, gender, and broad selective accommodation. Uniquely organized into periods of 50 years to facilitate classroom use, it allows students to ground important indigenous historical events and cultural changes within the timeframe of a typical university semester. Supported by images, textboxes, and linked documents in each chapter that aid learning and provide a new perspective that broadly enhances Latin American history and studies, it is the perfect introductory textbook for students.

The fourth-largest continent on earth, South America is a land of great extremes. The longest mountain range on the planet -- the Andes -- divides the 4,700-mile-long continent from its northern coast on the sunny Caribbean to its southern tip at stormy Tierra del Fuego. Within its boundaries lies the world's highest active volcano (Chimborazo, in Ecuador), the world's highest waterfall (Angel Falls, in Venezuela), and the world's driest region (the Atacama Desert, of Chile). South America's chief river, the 3,900-mile-long Amazon, and its more than 1,000 tributaries flow from the world's largest drainage basin, which is home to countless animal and plant species. More than 350 million people of many different cultures and races live in South America's 12 independent nations and two dependencies. Some are descendants of the land's native Indians, such as the Incas; others carry on the customs and traditions of their European ancestors, especially the Spanish and Portuguese who centuries ago colonized the region. Although wars, political instability, and violence in many South American countries have taken their toll on the economy, leaving millions in poverty, the abundant resources of the continent continue to be developed, producing food and other items sold throughout the world. Book jacket.

A Prehistory of South America is an overview of the ancient and historic native cultures of the entire continent of South America based on the most recent archaeological investigations. This accessible, clearly written text is designed to engage undergraduate and begining graduate studens in anthropology. For more than 12,000 years, South American cultures ranged from mobile hunters and gatherers to rulers and residents of colossal cities. In the process, native South American societies made advancements in agriculture and economic systems and created great works of art—in pottery, textiles, precious metals, and stone—that still awe the modern eye. Organized in broad chronological periods, A Prehistory of South America explores these diverse human achievements, emphasizing the many adaptations of peoples from a continent-wide perspective. Moore examines the archaeologies of societies across South America, from the arid deserts of the Pacific coast and the frigid Andean highlands to the humid lowlands of the Amazon Basin and the fjords of Patagonia and beyond. Illustrated in full color and suitable for an educated general reader interested in the Precolumbian peoples of South America, A Prehistory of South America is a long overdue addition to the literature on South American archaeology.