The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology.The first section of the Handbook provides an overview of recent history and trends of Mesoamerica and articles on national archaeology programs and practice in Central America and Mexico written by archaeologists from these countries. These are followed by regional syntheses organized by time period, beginning with early hunter-gatherer societies and the first farmers of Mesoamerica and concluding with a discussion of the Spanish Conquest and frontiers and peripheries of Mesoamerica. Topical and comparative articles comprise the remainder of Handbook. They cover important dimensions of prehispanic societies--from ecology, economy, and environment to social and political relations--and discuss significant methodological contributions, such as geo-chemical source studies, as well as new theories and diverse theoretical perspectives. The Handbook concludes with a section on the archaeology of the Spanish conquest and the Colonial and Republican periods to connect the prehispanic, proto-historic, and historic periods. This volume will be a must-read for students and professional archaeologists, as well as other scholars including historians, art historians, geographers, and ethnographers with an interest in Mesoamerica.

Introduction1. Mesoamerican Archaeology: Recent TrendsDeborah L. Nichols and Christopher PoolPart I. Theory, Method, and Practice in Mesoamerican Archaeology2. A Short History of Theory in Mesoamerican Archaeology, Manuel G?ndera3. Mexico's National Archaeology Programs, Nelly Robles4. Archaeology in Guatemala: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos5. The Archaeology of Belize in the 21st Century, Jaime J. Awe6. Mesoamerica's Southern Frontier, Geoffrey McCafferty, Fabio Amador, Silvia Salgado, and Carrie Dennett7. Archaeology and Indigenous Peoples, Shoshaunna Parks and Patricia McAnany8. Time and Space Boundaries: Chronologies and Regions in Mesoamerica, Susan EvansPart II. Hunter-Gatherers and First Farmers9. Ice Age Hunter-Gatherers and Colonization of Mesoamerica, Guillermo Acosta Ochoa10. Archaic Period Foragers and Farmers, Douglas Kennett11. The Origins of Food Production in Mesoamerica, Dolores Piperno and Bruce SmithPart III. Villages, Cities, States and EmpiresFormation of Early Complex Societies, Cities, and States12. The Formation of Complex Societies in Mesoamerica, Christopher A. Pool13. Not Carved in Stone: Building the Gulf Olmec from the Bottom Up, Philip Arnold14. The Development of Complex Societies in Formative Period Pacific Guatemala and Chiapas, Michael Love15. Ideology, Polity, and Social History of the Teotihuacan State, Saburo Sugiyama16. Cultural Evolution in the Southern Highlands of Mexico: From The Emergence of Social Inequality and Urban Society to the Decline of Classic Period States, Christina Elson17. Archaeology of the Maya Highlands, Barbara Arroyo18. Complex Societies in the Southern Maya Lowlands: Their Development and Florescence in the Archaeological Record, Arlen Chase and Diane Chase19. The Rise of Formative Period Complex Societies in Northern Maya Lowlands, Travis Stanton20. Interaction among the Complex Societies of Classic Period Mesoamerica, Sergio G?mez and Michael SpenceDevelopmental Cycles: Collapse and Regeneration21. Concepts of Collapse and Regeneration in Human History, George Cowgill22. Teotihuacan and the Epiclassic in Central Mexico, Jeffrey Parsons and Yoko Sugiura23. The Classic Maya Collapse, David Webster24. Searching for Tollan: Authority and Urbanism in Oaxaca after Monte Alb?n, Jeffrey Blomster25. Developmental Cycles in the Gulf Lowlands: Collapse and Regeneration, Annick Daneels26. Tula and the Toltecs, Dan Healan and Robert Cobean27. Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and the Postclassic Transition among the Maya of Northern Yucatan, George Bey and William Ringle28. Late Postclassic Maya Highlands, Greg Borgstede and Eugenia Robinson29. Southern Pacific Coastal Region of Mesoamerica: A Corridor of Interaction from Olmec to Aztec Times, Robert M. Rosenswig30. The Tarascan Empire: Postclassic Social Complexity in West Mexico, Helen Pearlstein Pollard31. The Aztec Empire, Michael Smith and Ma?lle Sergheraert32. The Conquest of Mexico, Michel OudijkPeripheries and Frontiers33. Networks, Cores, and Peripheries: New Frontiers in Interaction Studies, Edward Schortman and Patricia Urban34. The Southeastern Fringe of Mesoamerica, John Henderson and Kathryn Hudson35. Current Views on Power, Economics and Subsistence in Ancient West Mexico, Christopher Beekman36. Mesoamerica and the Southwest/Northwest, Randall McGuire37. Aztec Boundary Interactions, Michael Ohnersorgen and Marcie VenterPart IV. Institutions, Beliefs, and Practices: Topical and Comparative PerspectivesEconomies and Economic Relations38. Agricultural Landuse and Intensification, Vernon Scarborough39. Searching out Prehispanic Landscapes in Mesoamerica, Alfred Siemens40. Ecological Approaches to Archaeological Research in Central Mexico: New Directions, Emily McClung41. Sources and Sourcing, Ronald Bishop42. Crafting and Manufacturing in Mesoamerica: Critical Engagements in Theory and Method, E. Christian Wells43. The Domestication of Stone in Mesoamerica, John Clark44. Ceramic Technology and Production, Prudence Rice45. Mesoamerican Metallurgical Technology and Production, Blanca Maldonado46. As the Whorl Turns: Function and Meaning in Mesoamerican Textile Production, Geoffery McCafferty and Sherisse MaCafferty47. Markets, Merchants, and Systems of Exchange, Kenneth Hirth48. Central Mexican States and Imperial Tribute Systems, Frances BerdanSocial and Political Relations49. Archaeology of Gender in Mesoamerican Societies, Rosemary Joyce50. Class and Ethnicity, Elizabeth Brumfiel and Cynthia Robin51. Households in Ancient Mesoamerica: Domestic Social Organization, Status, Economies, and Rituals, David Carballo52. "Community", Marcello Canuto and Jason Yaeger53. Cities and Urbanism in Prehispanic Mesoamerica, Richard Blanton54. Mesoamerican States and Empires, Gary FeinmanBeliefs and Rituals55. Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica, Karl Taube56. Sacred Places and Sacred Landscapes, Katheryn Reese-Taylor57. Practices and Practitioners, Keith Reilly58. The Living and the Dead, James FitzsimmonsArt and Iconography, Calendars, Writing, and Literature59. Mesoamerican Calendars and Archaeoastronomy, Anthony Aveni60. Themes in the Art of the Preclassic Period, Mary Pye61. Art of the Classic Period, Rex Koontz62. Art in the Aztec Empire, Emily Umberger63. Early Mesoamerican Writing Systems, John Justeson64. Maya Writing, Nikolai Grube65. Scribal Traditions from Highland Mesoamerica (A.D. 300-1000), Javier Urcid66. Nahua and Mixtec Pictorial Books: Religion and History Through Visual Text, Lori Boornazian Diel67. Colonial Documents, Eduardo de Jesus DouglasPart V. The Spanish Conquest and Archaeology of the Colonial and Republican Periods68. The Spanish Conquest and the Archaeology of the Colonial and Republican Periods, John Pohl69. Population Decline During and After Conquest, Rebecca Storey70. Historical Archaeology in Central and Western Mesoamerica, Patricia Fournier and Thomas Charlton71. Landscape Change in the Maya Region, AD 1450-1910, Rani Alexander