iii
Contents
PREFACE vii
INTRODUCTION 1
UNIT I PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA 38
CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION 38
(Janine Gasco, Marilyn A. Masson, Robert M. Rosenswig, Michael E. Smith)
Early Inhabitants of Mesoamerica, 40
Mesoamerica Defines Itself: The Formative Period, 46
The Classic Civilizations, 56
Epiclassic/Terminal Classic, and Early Postclassic Periods, 71
Suggested Readings, 76
CHAPTER 2 LATE POSTCLASSIC MESOAMERICA 78
(Robert M. Carmack, Janine Gasco, Marilyn A. Masson, Michael E. Smith)
Historical Overview of the Late Postclassic Period, 78
Profiles of Three Late Postclassic Mesoamerican Peoples, 89
Summary of Major Developments in Prehispanic Mesoamerica, 118
Suggested Readings, 119
CHAPTER 3 THE MESOAMERICAN WORLD AT SPANISH CONTACT 120
(Robert M. Carmack)
Sociocultural Complexity of the Mesoamerican World, 121
Mesoamerica as a World-System, 123
Reflections on the Mesoamerican World, 147
Suggested Readings, 149