Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America [Paperback]

Kay Almere Read (Author), Jason J. Gonzalez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2002

An excellent resource, Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology introduces readers to the mythology of Mexico and Central America. Its chief focus is on Mexican Highland and Maya areas, as they were, and are, of utmost importance to Mesoamerican history.
An extensive and edifying introduction defines the nature of myth, the Mesoamericans as a people, and the cultural worldview that informed Mesoamerican mythology. The Handbook presents historical and mythological timelines, with each time period and cultural group fully defined. Also featured is a quick geographical and historical survey of Mesoamerica from the Paleoindian Era to the present, as well as a discussion of some of the challenges and possibilities that structure Mesoamerican studies. Moreover, an extensive reference list and a glossary of cultural and mythological terms are included, and pronunciation guides are given throughout. With an annotated bibliography that ranges from film to websites, fiction to poetry, and from introductory to scholarly works, the book is an all-embracing portal to its subject.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

After a somewhat disconcerting preface in which mother-and-son authors Read (comparative religion, DePaul Univ.) and Gonzalez refer to each other and themselves in both the first and third persons, the two proceed to deliver an impressive and scholarly but still student-friendly work on the mythology of Mexico and Central America. They begin with an 78-page introduction defining the nature of the myth, the Mesoamericans as a people, and the cultural worldview underlying their myths. The next section deals with historical and mythological time lines, leading to a chapter that details deities, themes, and concepts. A time period and cultural group is defined for each entry, which is followed by suggested readings and See Also references where appropriate. The final sections include an annotated biography and an extensive reference list as well as a glossary. Pronunciation guides are given throughout. A user-friendly reference on a complex subject, the Handbook is recommended for all secondary, public, and academic libraries.
Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh, PA.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

At the heart of this handbook on the mythologies of the peoples of Mexico and Central America lies its 140-page dictionary of deities, themes, and concepts. Each of the substantial entries in this section identifies the myth's time period and the cultural group in which it originated. The expository essays relate the tales associated with each character, explain how the myth has morphed over the centuries, cite archaeological and artistic evidence, and explain the myth's significance. The essays conclude with see also references to related entries and brief article-specific bibliographies.

Although analytical and exploratory, the essays also convey the richness and imaginativeness of Mesoamerican myth, in which celestial bodies, wild and domestic animals, and divine personages are imbued with mystical meaning. They also discuss the ways in which indigenous tales and Christian lore affected one another, sometimes producing a synergistic hybrid. A helpful glossary defines significant terms, and more than 70 pictures of artworks, temples, and archaeological sites illustrate significant places and personages.

An extensive introduction lays out the cultural history of Mesoamerica from earliest to recent times, key scholarly issues, and themes. The section that follows presents two major mythic time lines (K'iche' Maya and Nahua) and examines the meaning of time in the cultures of calendar-making peoples. Two concluding sections of the book list additional information sources. The first of these annotates selected bibliographic and Web sources; the second and larger simply lists print resources, most in English but some in Spanish.

Because the myths of Mesoamerica receive only cursory treatment in omnibus mythology sources such as Marjorie Leach's Guide to the Gods (ABC-CLIO, 1992), with its succinct identifications, and the New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology (Prometheus, 1968), with only five pages devoted to the Mesoamerican region, this handbook, the product of an uncommon mother-and-son scholarly collaboration, will enrich reference collections in public and academic libraries. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; annotated edition edition (October 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195149092
• ISBN-13: 978-0195149098
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Reader-Friendly, June 30, 2001

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"clmartin3" (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology (World Mythology) (Library Binding)

Read and Gonzalez have a lot of informative things to say about legends in Central America and its mixing with Christianity. They discuss important issues like the passing of time that can alter people's beliefs. The range of topics is extensive, and they handle them with a special talent. This is an important work with deep content but it is reader-friendly. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Aztec and Maya.

4.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book, January 30, 2011

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Hernan Cortes (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America (Paperback)

Quite simply wonderful. I used this book to teach a course on Mesoamerica and found it accessible, informative, and the right balance between scholarly and engaging. Coffee table books tend to be overly vague and sweeping in their generalizations, recounting the same myths in a monolithic manner, without a sense of the changing nature of mythology and the present uses of them. Gonzalez provides excellent synthetic treatments of the role of mythology in Mesoamerican society as well as thorough thematic coverage of their gods and mythic stories. I highly recommend it.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better to Try Miller, June 23, 2001

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Coleen Mann (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology (World Mythology) (Library Binding)

As an amateur archeologist I have interest in the ancient Maya, but this book let me down. Miller did a much better job with "An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya" (which is cheaper). Many of the illustrations were poorly composed. On a positive note, it had some interesting syntheses.