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

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.

Kay Almere Read is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at DePaul University and is the author of Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos. Jason J. Gonzalez is a graduate student in anthropology, specializing in Maya archaeology, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He has extensive field-experience on archaeological projects in Mesoamerica and the United States, as well as on the Pacific islands of Micronesia.