Ancient West Mexicos

The ancient societies of western Mexico have long been understudied and misunderstood. Focusing on recent archaeological data, Ancient West Mexicos highlights the diversity and complexity of the region's pre-Columbian cultures and argues that western Mexico was more similar to the rest of the Mesoamerican world than many researchers have believed. Chapters that treat investigations in Durango, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, and Michoacan draw on new evidence dating from across millennia, spanning different periods in Mesoamerican history. Contributors analyze materials including ceramics, architectural remains, textiles, and weaving tools to discern the settlement patterns, political structures, and cosmologies of the people who lived at these sites. Featuring intriguing case studies that point to unexpected pathways to sociopolitical complexity in ancient societies, these essays illustrate that the region s archaeological record can contribute meaningfully to a more nuanced picture of Mesoamerica as a whole. Contributors: Laura Almendros Lopez | Christopher S. Beekman | Mijaely Castanon | Fabio German Cupul-Magana | Manuel Duenas Garcia | Joshua D. Englehardt | Rafael Garcia de Quevedo-Machain | Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza | Erika Ibarra | Stephen A. Kowalewski | Martha Lorenza Lopez Mestas Camberos | Michael Mathiowetz | Joseph B. Mountjoy | David Muniz Garcia | M. Nicolas Caretta | Jose Luis Punzo Diaz | Diego Rangel | Kimberly Sumano Ortega | Jesus Zarco