Ancient West Mexico : Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past
Ed. Richard TownsendThe Art Institute of Chicago: Chicago: 1998.
(pp. 308)
Published in conjunction with the exhibition "Ancient West Mexico: Art of the Unknown Past" presented by The Art Institute of Chicago (September 5 - November 22, 1998) and later presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (December 5, 1998 - March 29, 1998). This book reveals the first authoritative analysis of the ancient culture of Western Mexico. While Mexico's Aztec and Mayan cultures have received intensive attention over the last 100 years, very little research focused on Western Mexico. What little research has been done reveals the ancient existence of a culture know as the Teuchitlan Tradition which came into existence about the same time as the Olmec- the mother culture of all Mexico. Authors of this superbly written and illustrated book offer their theories and evidence of a complex culture that may have had a long tradition of trade relations with Ecuador and Peru extending back 3,500 years. These discoveries may foreshadow a cultural renaissance, the foundations of which have remained hidden to the western researcher until now.