MESOAMERICAN ETHNOHISTORY

Research in Mesoamerican ethnohistory has made great strides over the past few decades. Innovations and refinements in the field follow several themes, including increased availability and more sophisticated interpretations of pictorial codices, the bringing to light of additional documentary materials and their translations, an increase in research on colonial life, a continuing interest in the Spanish conquest itself, and the development of particularly useful interpretations and perspectives from anthropology, history, and art history. Building on these themes, ethnohistory is in a position to further develop documentary analyses and text translations, encourage multidisciplinary and comparative research endeavors, and generate more sophisticated models for understanding culture change.