Mixteca-Puebla : discoveries and research in Mesoamerican art and archaeology /

This important collection of 15 papers originated as a symposium on the "Mixteca-Puebla concept," a distinctive "stylistic/iconographic tradition" in the late prehistoric period of central Mexico (mainly post-CE 1200). The term refers to a complex of traits that seems to have centered in the states of Puebla and western Oaxaca and spread widely, even as far as Costa Rica; the famous Aztec style in the Valley of Mexico was a related variation. Most of the papers analyze the best-known aspects of the tradition: distinctive painted iconography on highly decorated polychrome pottery, screen-fold books (codices), and wall murals. Emphasis is on the results of recent fieldwork that updates understanding of the Mixteca-Buebla manifestations in different local regions, allowing further interpretations of pre-Hispanic culture history and culture processes. The conference papers were revised for publication, and two invited papers were added; 11 are in English, four in Spanish (each preceded by an abstract in the other language). Although the papers are technical and require good background in Mesoamerican archaeology, the editors' introduction provides excellent discussion and context. An important addition for Mesoamerican collections, of lasting value. Upper-division undergraduate and above. K. A. Dixon; California State University, Long Beach