Table of Contents

Preface; Part One – Cultures in Context; 1. Regional Perspectives on the Olmec; 2. Comparing Changes in Mesoamerica; 3. Pre-Columbian Ceramics and the Maya; 4. Explaining Copan; 5. Vision and Revision; 6. Ancient Maya Politics and Ideology; 7. Paletin’s Discovery of the New World; 8. Codex Borbonicus; Part Two – Myths, Dreams, and Religions; 9. Religions of Mesoamerica; 10. Mesoamerican Dualism; 11. Forest of Kings; 12. The Meaning of Maya Myths; 13. Interpreting Tlaloc; 14. Templo Mayor; 15. Aztec Great Goddesses: Their Functions and Meaning; 16. Jacques Soustelle’s Studies of Aztec Religion; 17. Mayan Folklore from Lake Atitlan; 18. Lacandon Stories; 19. A Discourse-Centred Approach to Myths and Culture; Bibliography; Glossary; Index