grant group in this country. All of this leads to the obvious conclusion that ancient and mod-
ern Mesoamericans have long been a significant presence in U.S. culture and society, a pat-
tern that only increased in the past few years. Mesoamericans are, thus, literally and figuratively
fellow Americans. There is every reason, then, to become well acquainted with them.
Canada, Mexico, and the United States formalized the North American Free Trade Agree-
ment (NAFTA) in 1994, and the Central American states are in the process of becoming part
of a similar free trade agreement (known as CAFTA). Modern Mesoamericans are joining the
United States and Canada as members of one of the three major economic and trading blocs
in the world: North America, Europe, and Asia. This trend suggests that the twenty-first cen-
tury will inevitably bring Mexico and Central America, “distant neighbors” to the United States,
into its very midst with a shared set of economic interests and opportunities. English-speaking
North Americans will obviously have much to gain in appreciating and understanding the an-
cient and modern legacy of Mesoamerican civilization.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The complexity of scholarship on Mesoamerica and the Mesoamerican cultural tradition it-
self was a compelling factor in our deciding to write this text as a collective effort. The editors
of record in the first edition (Robert Carmack, Janine Gasco, and Gary Gossen) continue to
be responsible in this second edition for ensuring the overall integration of the text. We also
acknowledge the invaluable contributions by Edgar Martin del Campo, Jason S. R. Paling, and
Bradley W. Russell in preparing the figures, bibliographies, and computation of the chapters
in this second edition.
We are grateful to the original authors of chapters in the first edition: George Broadwell,
Louise Burkhart, Robert Carmack, Jan Gasco, Liliana Goldin, Gary Gossen, John Justeson,
Brenda Rosenbaum, and Michael Smith. And we are particularly grateful to the following ad-
ditional scholars who have contributed to chapters in this second edition: Christine Eber, Wal-
ter Little, Marilyn Masson, and Rob Rosenswig.
We would like to thank the following reviewers for their helpful suggestions and useful
insights: Victor Garcia, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; James McDonald, University of
Texas at San Antonio; Ramona Perez, University of North Texas; John Bort, East Carolina Uni-
versity; Arthur Murphy, Georgia State University; and Ronald Waterburg, CUNY-Queens Col-
lege.
Last, but certainly not least, we want to express our gratitude to Nancy Roberts, executive
editor of Prentice Hall, and to this publishing company for their encouragement in the prepa-
ration of this second edition. Their backing was crucial to our making it a reality.PREFACE xi