This major revision of Richard E. W. Adams's classic text on the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica adds new information available from archaeological fieldwork in the region from the 1990s through 2004 and also evaluates recent theories regarding the remarkable prehistoric cultures of a region that today encompasses Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.

This up-to-date overview provides an introduction to Mesoamerican studies, a brief geographic sketch of the region, and a summary of the major features of its civilizations. Adams follows with a detailed examination of each period of Mesoamerican cultural history, from early prehistoric times through the rise and fall of various city-states to the ascendancy and ultimate fall of the Aztec Empire.