The Legacy of Mesoamerica : History and Culture of a Native American Civilization (Exploring Cultures)
Eds. Robert M. Carmack, Janine Gasco, Gary H. Gossen, Rob Carmack, Gary H. GossenPrentice Hall: New Jersey: 1995.
(pp. 494)
This is perhaps the first book to fairly, honestly and accurately tell a political, social and cultural history of the peoples of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. This book was clearly a monumental interdisciplinary undertaking that begins with the premise that the nations of America and the people comprising them have been dynamic and determining influences in the events the produced what we now know as modern Mesoamerica. It follows this premise with a discussion of the immigrant created institutions and governments built on top of ancient societies. This is a book filled with insights and details of an historical as well as cultural nature.
This is not a one-dimensional historical tract glorifying the achievements of settling populations. This is a study in cultural clash that honestly portrays the players warts and all from ancient cultures to the confrontation between México (attempting to create a homogenous mestizocized society) and the Maya of Chiapas (seeking to reestablish their political, economic and cultural identity). An excellent treatment of historical, cultural and social material.