The authors of Masks of the Spirit present modern English translations of the important myths of the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, along with the strange imagery of the original codices and stallae. Illustrated with 100 photographs (25 in color) of crucial monuments, murals, masks, and friezes.

A study of Tezcatlipoca, one of the greatest but least understood Mesoamerican pantheon. Analyzing the sources and problems related to Tezcatlipoca's protean powers and shifting meanings, the author guides readers through the symbolic names of this great god, from his representation on skins and stones to his relationship to ritual knives and other deities.

The authors of Masks of the Spirit present modern English translations of the important myths of the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, along with the strange imagery of the original codices and stallae. Illustrated with 100 photographs (25 in color) of crucial monuments, murals, masks, and friezes.

Illuminates the complexities of Aztec life. Readers meet a people highly skilled in sculpture, astronomy, city planning, poetry, and philosophy, who were also profoundly committed to cosmic regeneration through the thrust of the ceremonial knife and through warfare.

Masterly....The complexities of Mexico's ancient cultures are perceptively presented and interpreted.--Library Journal

Describes daily life in the Aztec world, including coverage of geography, foods, trades, arts, games, wars, political systems, class structure, religious practices, trading networks, writings, architecture and science.

Reproduction of the original: Gods and Heroes by R.E Francillon

Provides a dramatic account of the creation of the Caribbean Islands and Central America, the wildlife of these two regions, and the history of their early peoples.

"The scholarship in this book is superior, revealing a depth of insight and a scope of knowledge possible only from a scholar who has lived with the concerns of feminist theology for decades. Ruether is a gifted storyteller, and lucidly translates complex ideas and debates. This work is of the highest importance, and Ruether asks the right questions at the right time. The text is groundbreaking."—Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Saint Mary's College of California "Ruether has provided a valuable introduction to an important feminist topic: what can we know about sacred female imagery in Western culture? She guides us through contemporary feminist scholarship, providing engaging narrative, and venturing her own interpretations. Ruether calls for feminists to move beyond divisions created by our different interpretations of prehistory and work together towards our common project of a more peaceful, just, and ecological world."—Carol Hepokoski, Meadville Lombard Theological School