Vanished Mesoamerican Civilizations
The History and Cultures of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs
Description:... Reflecting extensive archaeological fieldwork carried out under the author's direction, and richly illustrated throughout, this is the first comprehensive reference on two great but little-known Mesoamerican cultures that flourished for thousands of years in the present-day southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The Zapotecs were skilled builders who constructed one of early America's most magnificant architectural complexes on the hilltop pf Monte Alban, a site that includes elaborately crafted temples, plaza, tombs and statuary. The nearby Mixtecs lived in smaller units and created fabulous mosaics, sculpture, and jewelry. They also developed a pictographic system of writing, which they drew on exquisite polychrome pottery and deersking codices. Through careful dechiphering and analysis of written, artistic, and architectural remains, Ancient Mesoamericans provides extraordinary glimpses of these two very different societies, their culture, rituals, and daily lives.
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