From the Book - 4th ed., fully rev. and expanded.
The Archaic period: The desert culture in North America. The origins of Mexican cultivated plants. The importance of maize. Other cultigens. Caves and rockshelters of northeastern Mexico. Santa Marta rockshelter. The Tehuacan Valley. Other Archaic sites. The Archaic period and the origins of settled life
The preclassic period: early villagers: The Early Preclassic in Chiapas. Early Preclassic villagers in Oaxaca. The site of Tlatilco. Established villages of the Middle Preclassic. Late Preclassic cultures of the central highlands. The Mezcala puzzle. The shaft-tomb art of western Mexico
The preclassic period: eary civilizations: Background of civilized life. The Olmec civilization. The San Lorenzo Olmec. El Manati. The Olmec of La Venta. Tres Zapotes and the long count calendar. The Olmecs beyond the heartland. Early Zapotec civilization. Izapan civilization. La Mojarra and the Isthmian script.
The classic period: Rise of the great civilizations. The urban civilization of Teotihuacan. The Great Pyramid of Cholula. The Maya connection: Cacaxtla and Xochicalco. Cerro de las Mesas. The Classic Veracruz civilization. Remojadas potters. Classic Monte Albán. The Classic downfall
The post-classic period: the Toltec state: A time of troubles. The northern barbarians. Tula and the toltecs. Archaeological Tula. Tula and Chichén Itzá. The 'turquoise road'
The post-classic period: rival states: Late Zapotec culture at Mitla. The Mixtecs. The Tarascan kingdom. The rise of the Aztec state. The consolidation of Aztec power.
The Aztecs in 1519: The island city. Aztec society. The long-distance merchants. Becoming an Aztec. Marriage. The Triple Alliance and the empire. The emperor and the palace. Food and agriculture. War and human sacrifice. Aztec religion. Aztec art and architecture. Aztec thought and literature
Epilogue: The Spanish conquest. New Spain and the colonial world. The 'ladinoization' of Mexico. Aftermath.