More than ninety color photographs and a thoughtful text document the remarkable story of six female Oaxacan artisans, all of whom work with clay and are among the most renowned of contemporary Mexican folk artists.

This beautiful reference introduces contemporary Mexican folk art by featuring prominent artists from Oaxaca in southeastern Mexico. Their unique artworks are introduced and illustrated. Crafted from natural materials, their ceramics, weaving, woodcarving, embroidery, tin work, toys, jewelry, candles, dried flower crafts, basketry, and celebrations of Day of the Dead handicrafts incorporate unique blends of indigenous myths with ancient patterns from Zapotec ruins. These folk art traditions have been preserved for hundreds of years. This sampler features 87+ artists belonging to 45+ families, many useful maps, and over 500 color photographs of their distinctive works. A useful resource section includes a list of shops and markets of Oaxaca City and 12 of its surrounding pueblos, and a glossary identifies the frequently-used Mexican terms that apply to these folk arts. This will be a treasured source of reference and inspiration for all who love folk art.

(BAR -S364, 1987)

John Scott looks at the characteristics, stylistic evolution, ceramic relationships, and dating of the Danzantes of Monte Albán. The volume includes an illustrated catalogue of the reliefs and an appendix on their petrography and pigmentation.

San José Mogote, an early village and chiefly center in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, was excavated over a fifteen-year period. This volume reports in detail on every Early and Middle Formative house recovered, including a complete inventory of artifacts, features, plants, animal bones, and craft raw materials by house, with extensive piece-plotting of items on house floors and dooryards.

Application of heat to clay transforms it into a ceramic, and thus the history and technical features of structures supplying that heat - kilns - are of considerable importance. The 14 chapters in this volume discuss ancient and historic kilns from the viewpoint of their excavation, their operational principles, and their contributions to an understanding of ceramic production within ancient economies.