New Mexico Books

For some 20 years since I discovered that the book I had is a 1st draft with a cover page addressed to Augustus H.Harvemeyer(?) and Peter F. Lorillard, have endevored to get much past the first 5 chapters.The woodcut or tin prints are incredibly detailed, each with a world of information to those willing to take the time to study them. Although Mr.Charnay occasionally wonders from his original train of thought, the book is an incredible piece of work, for its time and the effort that went into researching the subject covered. The significance of the signed cover page is the two names mentioned funded his expiditions to Central America.

Bill Myers is a great writer. This book is a great ending to his Ancient Forces trilogy.

_The Ancient Maya_ by Heather McKillop is a comprehensive and thoroughly researched overview of this Central American civilization, complete with maps, diagrams, photographs, and many pages of references.

Organized like a textbook (and I understand it is used as such in some college courses), it is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction, the author noting some of the evolution in scholarly understanding of the Maya, due to a huge growth in the amount of fieldwork and critical breakthroughs in decipherment of Mayan hieroglyphics, particularly thanks to the efforts of such scholars as Yuri Knorozov (who pointed out that the hieroglyphs were phonetic and not logographs or based on picture writing) and Tatiana Proskouriakoff (who discovered that hieroglyphs on carved stone monuments or stelae recorded historical information and the exploits of Classic Maya royalty, not priestly writings on astronomy and mathematics). McKillop introduced three competing theories that attempted to explain the collapse of the classic Maya civilization in the ninth century, something that she would revisit several times (briefly, they were ecological disaster resulting form overpopulation and overuse of the land, escalating endemic warfare between the various Maya city-states, and catastrophic environmental change brought about by climatic shifts).

Chapter two looked at where the ancient Maya civilization existed, dividing the Maya area into three regions; the northern Maya lowlands (the Yucatan peninsula), the southern Maya lowlands (Belize, the Peten area of Guatemala, the Chiapas area of Mexico, and part of Honduras), and the southern Maya highlands (southern Guatemala). She noted the rock types used by the ancient Maya - chert (which she said is erroneously referred to as flint), limestone, obsidian, basalt - and their sources and issues in studying existing plant and animal communities in the region (ramon trees, which produce an edible nut, are prolific around Maya ruin sites but were not a major component of the Classic Maya diet; these trees love the lime-rich soil found around deteriorating limestone buildings).

Chapter three looked at the history of the archaeology of the Maya. She noted how far study has advanced, from destructive digging ("Gann holes" are still found in the center of some stone mounds, the legacy of enthusiastic explorer Thomas Gann) and forgeries (the famous crystal skull found in 1927) to sophisticated modern techniques (including studies of debitage - flakes left over from making stone tools - and obsidian hydration, which can pinpoint the source of obsidian used for tools and help trace Maya trade routes).

Chapter four is on the origins, growth, and decline of Maya civilization. An important chapter, she provided a good definition of the Classic period (approximately A.D. 300 to 900, when Maya kings and queens had stone monuments erected with historical information and dates in the Maya long count and the peak of the civilization in terms of population, architecture, and the arts). She provided an overview of the great importance in studying Maya pottery, an overview of Maya architecture, and a discussion of Postclassic Maya civilization.

Chapter five was devoted to economic matters, which is divided by scholars into the prestige economy (production and distribution of goods for the royal Maya) and the subsistence economy (goods for the daily use of all classes of Maya society). There is still considerable debate over the degree of elite control and centralization of the ancient Maya economy as well as how specialized the means of production was; was there mass production or cottage industries?

Chapter six covered Maya society. It was interesting to learn that there was a Maya middle class and even "garden cities" or suburbs in some of the 80 Maya polities that existed. She covered the evolution in understanding of Maya population (from concepts of Maya cities as largely empty ceremonial centers to instead that of teeming metropolises) and the different social levels of Maya society; there were two classes of elites (ahau and cahal), while the remaining 98 percent of Maya society was made up two classes of commoners and perhaps slaves (it is debated).

Chapter seven looked at Maya politics. There is debate over whether the Maya city-states were fairly autonomous and operated independently (the segmentary model) or whether there was more centralization and various regional superpowers rose and fell. Other debates center over the nature of warfare; was it related to expansionistic empire-building by Maya royalty, or was it to obtain captives for sacrifice? She covered the development of defensive walls in Maya cities, noting that some cities apparently hastily built defensive walls and moats using the stone from buildings, causeways, and paths of their own city.

Chapter eight looked at Maya religion and ideology, with lots of coverage of the ball game and of Maya deities.

Chapter nine looked at the material culture, with much discussion of the types of items found and how they are studied. Interesting facts; chert was sometimes used to make complex renditions of Maya rulers and their method of manufacture "defies modern replication," Maya painters showed frame-by-frame action, something not shown in Western art until the late 19th century, and pumice was used to make fishing floats.

Chapter ten looked at the intellectual accomplishments of the Maya, notably their mathematics, calendars, writing, and astronomy. Though books were apparently once common in the Classic period, only four Postclassic books survive. They were made of fig bark paper whose surface was coated with a white coating of plaster or gesso (a calcium sulphate), written on with either a sharp quill pen or a brush pen, and were fan-folded with text and images on both sides. Maya glyphs were quite variable, reflecting the decentralized nature of the Classic Maya political landscape.

The final chapter summarized future issues for Mayanists, notably discussions of the Classic collapse (an issue complicated by the fact that the collapse took 150 years to happen and some areas in northern Belize, the coast, and the northern Maya lowlands actually climaxed after the collapse), the nature of Mayan politics, food, and issues of illegal trade in Maya antiquities.

Mr. Hart presents a superb overview of Mayan spirituality in a modern context, and does so with a depth of knowledge and sensitivity that is extraordinary. So far and above the usual disservice done to the subject by countless guidebooks and magazine articles, the many interviews are woven together to show a beautiful tapestry. Un muy buen trabajo, senor sacerdote!

From back cover:

"How many times have you seen tracks ahead of you on a beach, muddy forest trail or across a blanket of snow, and wondered what creature made them? This handy, pocket-sized guide helps you name the track maker, with life-size drawings of the animal's or bird's characteristic footprints. Just check for size with the ruler (left), then hold the book beside the mystery imprint and fine the drawing that looks most like it, for a quick identification. Includes 40 to 50 different animals and many birds most common the Rocky Mountains, with information on size, sounds, habitat, diet and patterns of movement."

[Includes Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks]

This book is a collection of over 40 columns that began appearing in the NMASM Newsletter in 1988. They are stories about different surveys the author has been involved in as well as stories of historical figures who were surveyors. Most of these stories take place in New Mexico and the Southwest

When missionaries came to colonize California, it was to Baja California "Antigua California" that they came. This is the story of the Jesuits who persevered in a barren, waterless, resource poor place. But the really great thing about the book is that it is the whole story of the pioneer mission period: it is also the story of the aboriginal peoples who were the targets of the Jesuits, and of the people (mostly Mexican) whom the Jesuits hired and brought along to handle and create daily life-soldiers, sailors, artisans, laborers. For once, a comprehensive history truly is. Using original eighteenth century materials (church records, diaries, letters, reports) the author has tracked down the movement of individuals, their genealogies, their careers, their contributions. More than most, it is a book of portraits of real people, pieced together sympathetically from scattered and scanty records. For a scholar, the book is eminently useful: full of maps, chronological tables of people and places, explanations of systems and bureaucracies. For the history buff, it is a dream of readability and detail. Highly recommended.

This book is one of the best I have ever read about the history of the Southwest and Northern Mexico. Forbes challenges many of the stereotypes about the Apaches and Navajos using archival documents from the colonial period. For example, he shows that the idea that the Apaches were inherently warlike and "savage" is untrue and misleading. In fact, it was the colonial policy of Spain that drove the Apaches into a raiding lifestyle. This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of the Latin American froniter, the American West or just of history in general. I recommend this book over all others about the Apaches.

For a scholarly consideration of Chaco Canyon's importance and discoveries, don't miss the college-level guide ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHACO CANYON: AN ELEVENTH-CENTURY PUEBLO REGIONAL CENTER. Two decades following the largest field research program to excavate Chaco, the original researchers and other Chaco scholars convened to evaluate what they knew and to discuss new theories and new data: a meeting which held an advanced seminar at the SAR, where the Chaco Project was born in 1968. ARCHAROLOGY OF CHACO CANYON reflects this meeting's insights and results and embraces over thirty years of research and ideas.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

OK, so I don't live in Arizona or New Mexico. But I live in the state just north of Arizona, and this was the closest book I could get. I bought it for a youngster that's just beginning to show interest in astronomy. She's twelve and sitting out one evening and having her identify various stars to her mother and I was nothing less than fantastic. And this from a kid with less than stellar (sorry I couldn't resist) grades in school. You've just got to find something that interests them. I guess that come Christmas time I'm going to be in the market for a telescope.

The book was exactly what I was seeking. It's aimed at the younger reader so that the descriptions are not too complex, not too mathematical -- that can come later. It's personalized, if that's the word, to the local states (and the same author has other versions of the book for other states).