This essential guide to the art and architecture of ancient Mesoamerica succinctly and evocatively surveys the artistic achievements of the high Precolumbian civilizations – Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Aztec – as well as those of their less well-known contemporaries. Their pyramids and palaces, jades and brightly coloured paintings emerge from these pages as vividly as when they first astonished Cortés’s men in 1519.

For the third edition of this standard work, Mary Miller opens up new windows on the ancient past with fresh readings of Mesoamerican works of art, all the while offering careful archaeological interpretations. Recent hieroglyphic decipherments provide insights into ancient works, confirming the connections between the Maya and their neighbours. Revised throughout, with special attention to evidence for dating, the new Art of Mesoamerica is the ideal companion for art historians, students and travellers.


ISBN 0500203458