Aztec, Inca, & Maya

View other editions of Aztec, Inca, & Maya.
View books by Elizabeth Baquedano.

Lots of artifacts from Mesoamerica and the Andes - Rated
My assumption is that a DK Eyewitness Book entitled "Aztec, Inca & Maya" would devote sections to each of the three great civilizations that Spanish explorers encountered and eradicated in the 16th century. The Aztec empire stretched between the Pacific and the Atlantic costs of Mesoamerica, the Maya kingdom was found in the eastern part of Mesoamerica, and the Inca Empire stretched 4,000 miles along the western coast of South America. But this book considers the people of these regions to be a mosaic of tribes and nations so that most of the chapters are topical, talking about food and drink, religious life, masks, and such in terms of all of the cultures that apply. There are a few specific chapters devoted to the Incas and their ancestors and Cities of the Andes, but most toss in everything together.

I have to admit, I do not find this approach to work anymore than one about Mediterranean cultures that lumps Spain, Italy and Greece together with the likes of Portugal, Sicily, and Crete thrown in for good measure. In this volume the Olmecs, Teotihuacans, and Toltecs are thrown in for good measure, but not so that you can have anything close to a clear conception of the specific cultures. There are some topics where it makes sense to talk about multiple cultures, such as the Human sacrifice by the Incas and Aztecs, but that does not apply to all of these topics. Consequently, I am tempted to get different colored highlighters and color code the three main cultures throughout the book so it is easier to make the connections.

As always, the chief attraction of this Eyewitness Book is that it is filled with photographs of artifacts from museums around the world, from the Archaeological Museum in Lima the National Palace in Mexico City to the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence and the Rietberg Museum in Zurich (a subtle reminder that a lot of New World treasures made their way to Europe). Most of us will never get to see a Toltec coyote warrior inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco, or a "teponaztli" (horizontal drum) in person. "The Los Angeles Times Book Review" called one of these volumes "Like a mini-museum between the covers of a book," which is so on point that DK always puts that quote on the back. Almost as important, Elizabeth Bauedano provides detailed captions for the illustrations so that you know what you are looking at and what it means. Consequently "Aztec, Inca & Maya" works better as a supplemental source than as an introduction to these fascinating civilizations.

Beautifully illustrated but covers too much ground. - Rated
This is another in the delightful series of Eyewitness books for children. It is beautifully illustrated with excellent photographs and a terrific collection of illustrations taken from modern and historical sources. However, this book tries to cover too much in the alloted space. The book shows examples of clothing, tools, architecture, religion and arts from all 3 cultures (Maya, Aztec & Inca). Unfortunately, the book also includes examples from cultures preceding and succeeding these great civilizations such as the Moche, Mixtec, Toltec, Olmec and Nazca. This makes for a somewhat confusing situation, and you wish for a timeline and map to show when and where all these peoples are located. All in all, it's a very eye-catching book. I do suggest for future editions the Eyewitness folks should consider books that concentrate specifically on the Maya, Aztec or Inca, or at least one volume on Mexico and Mesoamerica and one volume on Peru.