Baron Erland Nordenskiold was Sweden's preeminent ethnographer until his death in 1932. From 1899 to 1914 Nordenskiold made five expeditions to South America, with a sixth in 1926. This cultural history was first published in Sweden in 1912. This edition encompasses certain alterations.

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 historical work presents an incredible and precise account of the history of settlement in America, giving an excellent overview of the Indian people of north and south America. When America was discovered, it was occupied by a race of men unlike any tribe already known. They were known as Indians from the West Indies, where they were first witnessed, and which Columbus, according to the popular opinion of that age, assumed to be a part of the East Indies. This history stands out from others on the same subject, as American author, Samuel G. Goodrich, has presented it very accurately, focusing on making the general reader acquainted with the relevant facts about the subject without being too wordy or making the text incomprehensible. This work is a part of his series, beginning in 1827 under the name of Peter Parley, that dealt with topics related to geography, biography, history, science, and various other tales.

Initially decimated by disease and later faced with the loss of their lands and their political autonomy, Latin American Indians have displayed remarkable resilience. They have resisted cultural hegemony with rebellions and have initiated petitions to demand remedies to injustices, while consciously selecting certain aspects of the West to incorporate into their cultures. Leading historians, anthropologists and sociologists examine Indian-Western relationships from the Spaniards' initial contact with the Incas to the cultural interplay of today's Latin America. This revised edition contains four brand new chapters and a revised introduction. The list of suggested readings and films has also been updated.