Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology Studies Series

John Scott looks at the characteristics, stylistic evolution, ceramic relationships, and dating of the Danzantes of Monte Albán. The volume includes an illustrated catalogue of the reliefs and an appendix on their petrography and pigmentation.

Townsend offers an interpretation of major examples of Mexica monumental art by identifying three interrelated iconographic themes: the conception of the universe as a sacred structure, the correspondence of the social order and the territory of the nation with the cosmic structure, and the representation of Tenochtitlan as the historically legitimate successor to the civilization of the past.

The authors present evidence that specific place names do exist in Maya inscriptions, and show that identifying these names sheds considerable light on both past and present questions about the Maya.

The Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca was created at a pivotal moment, bridging an era when pictorial manuscripts dominated and one that witnessed the rising hegemony of alphabetic texts. Beautifully illustrated with color images from the manuscript, Script and Glyph crosses the boundaries of Pre-Columbian and Landscape areas of study.

By examining the connections between place and identity in the Classic Maya culture that thrived in the Yucatan peninsula and parts of Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras from 350 to 900 CE, Alexandre Tokovinine addresses one of the crucial research questions in anthropology: How do human communities define themselves in relation to landscapes?

Trepanation is the oldest surgical procedure known from antiquity, but its origins, evolution, and the reasons for doing it remain unclear. Holes in the Head examines trepanation in ancient Peru and explores its origins and spread throughout the Central Andes, focusing on techniques, success rates, and possible motivations for trepanning.

Painted Words presents a facsimile and analysis of a 17th-century pictographic Catholic catechism from colonial Mexico at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. This book shows they are better understood as indigenous expressions of devotional knowledge—with pictures to aid oral performance—rather than the products of evangelization.

The Archaeology of Mural Painting at Pañamarca, Peru is a richly illustrated volume offering a nuanced account of the modern history of exploration, archaeology, and image making at Pañamarca. It also offers detailed documentation of the new fieldwork carried out by the authors at the site.