The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec

Front Cover
Thames & Hudson, 2006 - Architecture - 256 pages
"An essential guide to the art and architecture of ancient Central America."-Colonial Latin American Historical Review Mary Ellen Miller 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 colored paintings emerge from these pages as vividly as when they first astonished Cortes's men in 1519. The fourth edition of this standard work includes exciting new discoveries, from Palenque, Mexico, where architecture and sculpture reveal a dramatic eighth century, to San Bartolo, Guatemala, where Maya paintings have riveted an international audience. Continuing hieroglyphic decipherments provide fresh insights. The revised edition of the Art of Mesoamerica is the ideal companion for art historians, students, and travelers alike. 210 illustrations, 55 in color.

From inside the book

Contents

Chronological table
6
Chapter 2
21
Chapter 3
42
Copyright

6 other sections not shown

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About the author (2006)

Mary Ellen Miller is former dean of Yale College, and now directs the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Her book with Linda Schele, The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art, is considered a landmark in Maya studies.

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