History of Mexican Archaeology

Professor Bernat recounts the story of a centuries-long bid to unravel the mstery presented by the Precolumbian peoples of Mexico. Who were they? How did they live? And what was the secret of their remarkable acheivements? He examines anew the records of their Spanish conquerors and the accounts of early European travellers and antiquaries who investigated the enigmatic monuments the Indians left to posterity. It was not until the nineteenth century that the work of men such as John Lloyd Stephens, Eduard Seler and Alfred P. Maudslay, and of institutions such as the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, led to a better appreciation of the evidence available. Subsequently there emerged indigenous Mexican archaeologists of international caliber; for, in the words of the author, "Mexican archaeology is for the foreigner no more than an academic exercise in the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity. But it is part of the Mexican's past, part of his very life." -- from book's back cover