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Blood and Beauty: Organized Violence in the Art and Archaeology of Mesoamerica and Central America

edited by Heather Orr and Rex Koontz

Blood and Beauty brings together a diverse, prestigious group of contributors to debate this charged topic in an open, critical and frank interchange. Authors specializing in the anthropology, archaeology, art history, and linguistics of Mesoamerica and Central America bring new data and interpretive strategies to bear on the nature of institutional violence in these ancient societies. The volume covers a broad time frame, from circa 1200 B.C.E. to the sixteenth century, including recent ethnography. The volume endeavors to contextualize violence and violent acts within the matrix of indigenous thought and culture. Chapter topics reflect that desire, including localized, culturally specific, examinations of warfare, sacrifice, ballgames, boxing, pain, and healing. While there is no overarching theoretical perspective, the contributors are sensitive to current theoretical discourse in the field, including recent perspectives on organized violence and the agency of artworks. 490p, col insert (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press 2009)

Review Quote

"This book is recommended for any academic or museum library that supports research into the art and archaeology of Mesoamerica and Central America."

Kim Collins
ARLIS/NA Reviews (April/May 2010)

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