Estudios Indiana 9: Places of Power and Memory in Mesoamerica’s Past and Present
Daniel Graña-Behrens (ed.)
Berlin: Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut / Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2016, 296 pp.
ISBN 978-3-7861-2766-6
This book provides a fresh look at the principles of power and the memory of places in Mesoamerica. Toponyms, boundaries and landscapes play an important role in shaping local politics and peoples life’s throughout past and present. Beyond structural and conceptual similarities in calendar, rituals and religion, Mesoamerica shares a devote preference for places, sites or urban centers as distinguishable feature for collectiveness, constantly reshaped and transformed according to the historical circumstances either political, economical or religious. Thus, more than a coincidence, the importance of places over recognizable or by natives documented cultural regions in Mesoamerica seems to be a cultural pattern with deep roots lasting until today.