Until now; archaeological and historical studies of Mesoamerican plazas have been scarce compared to studies of the surrounding monumental architecture such as pyramidal temples and palaces. Many scholars have assumed that ancient Mesoamericans invested their labor; wealth; and symbolic value in pyramids and other prominent buildings; viewing plazas as by-products of these buildings. Even when researchers have recognized the potential significance of plazas; they have thought that plazas as vacant spaces could offer few clues about their cultural and political roles. Mesoamerican Plazas challenges both of these assumptions. The primary question that has motivated the contributors is how Mesoamerican plazas became arenas for the creation and negotiation of social relations and values in a community. The thirteen contributions stress the significance of interplay between power relations and embodied practices set in specific historical and material settings; as outlined by practice theory and performance theory. This approach allows the contributors to explore broader anthropological issues; such as the negotiation of power relations; community making; and the constitution of political authorities. Overall; the contributions establish that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes; but were the actual political processes through which people created; negotiated; and subverted social realities. If so; spacious plazas that were arguably designed for interactions among a large number of individuals must have also provided critical arenas for the constitution and transformation of society.
#3756162 in eBooks 2002-06-01 2002-06-01File Name: B00IC7XHD0
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Not going to it as a resourceBy ShermanIts a great reference but not very useful for me. I am a player who shops Craigs List for quality used acoustics with price points above $2;000 that are not older than 10 years and who uses other guitar pricing guides to shop with. If you are looking for vintage gear maybe it would be helpful.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy GEORGE JOHNSONGREAT43 of 43 people found the following review helpful. A Book Thats Worth Its Weight in GoldBy TomMany years ago; I bought the first edition of this book. Since then; it has saved me from many a bad deal and has also helped me better indentify a few instruments that I already owned. There ARE books that are more detailed (such as Gruhns identification guide); but this very succinct and reader-friendly guide enables the reader to help find and use serial numbers (and the way theyre applied - inked; stamped; decal) and other indicators (such as paper labels inside hollow body guitars) to quickly figure out the manufacture year of the major brands of guitars. I confess that I havent seen the latest edition; but my edition has an abundance of sample photos; lists and charts to help the reader. These days; with the price of vintage guitars at an almost absurd level; this book could save the reader from a very costly mistake. Of course; a book this short cannot give you EVERYTHING you would need to know in EVERY case (and Id certainly be careful with very expensive instruments - conterfeits exist); but I consider this book to be an absolute must-have for any guitar collectors library and an outstanding value to boot. Its easily worth double the price.
