The Art of Mesoamerica From Olmec to Aztec

Mary Ellen Miller

Mary Ellen Miller’s rich visual and scholarly survey of pre-Hispanic art and architecture, including the most recent archaeological finds.

Expanded and revised in its sixth edition, The Art of Mesoamerica surveys the artistic achievements of the high pre-Hispanic civilizations of Central America—Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Toltec, and Aztec—as well as those of their lesser-known contemporaries.

Providing an in-depth examination of central works, this book guides readers through the most iconic palaces, pyramids, sculptures, and paintings. From the Olmec colossal head 5 recovered from San Lorenzo to the Aztec calendar stone found in Mexico City’s Zocalo in 1790, this book reveals the complexity and innovation behind the art and architecture produced in pre-Hispanic civilizations.

This new edition incorporates fifty new lavish color images and extensive updates based on the latest research and dozens of recent discoveries, particularly in Maya art, where excavations at Teotihuacan, the largest city of Mesoamerica, and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs, have yielded new sculptures.

Contributors

Mary Ellen Miller

Author

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.