Overview

How we dress our bodies-through clothing, footwear, headgear, jewelry, haircuts, and more-is key to the expression of status and identity. This idea was as true for ancient Maya civilization as it is today, yet few studies have centered on what ancient Maya peoples wore and why. In The Adorned Body, Nicholas Carter, Stephen Houston, and Franco Rossi bring together contributions from a wide range of scholars, leading to the first in-depth study of Maya dress in pre-Columbian times. Incorporating artistic, hieroglyphic, and archaeological sources, this book explores the clothing and ornaments of ancient Maya peoples, systematically examining who wore what, deducing the varied purposes and meanings of dress items and larger ensembles, and determining the methods and materials with which such items were created. Each essay investigates a category of dress-including headgear, pendants and necklaces, body painting, footwear, and facial ornaments-and considers the variations within each of these categories, as well as popular styles and trends through time. The final chapters reveal broader views and comparisons about costume ensembles and their social roles. Shedding new light on the art and archaeology of the ancient Americas, The Adorned Body offers a thorough map of Maya dress that will be of interest to scholars and fashion enthusiasts alike.

Full Product Details

9781477320709

Table of Contents

Reviews

The contributors [to The Adorned Body]...quite compellingly explore the objectives and reception of specific symbolism, especially in public ceremonies and processions. The authors draw on a rich corpus of basic data, including hundreds of richly painted ceramics and abundant frescoes painted on white plastered walls in temples, palaces, and other venues...The chapters are well illustrated, and fortunately there is a section of color illustrations in the center of the book...Recommended. * CHOICE * The Adorned Body provides a complete and exhaustive survey on dress and fashion among the ancient Maya...This book represents a brief and clear but comprehensive review on ancient Maya clothing. It will be of interest as a first approach to this subject or as a useful support for scholars who need to widen or develop their knowledge on the topic, thanks to the richness of references given about others' works...The book also provides a whole perception of the human body in Mesoamerican civilization. * Journal of Dress History *

The contributors [to The Adorned Body]...quite compellingly explore the objectives and reception of specific symbolism, especially in public ceremonies and processions. The authors draw on a rich corpus of basic data, including hundreds of richly painted ceramics and abundant frescoes painted on white plastered walls in temples, palaces, and other venues...The chapters are well illustrated, and fortunately there is a section of color illustrations in the center of the book...Recommended. * CHOICE *

Author Information

Nicholas Carter is an assistant professor of anthropology at Texas State University. Stephen D. Houston is the Dupee Family Professor of Social Sciences at Brown University and the author of many books, including The Life Within: Classic Maya and the Matter of Permanence, which won a PROSE Award in 2014. Franco D. Rossi is the Austen-Stokes Ancient Americas Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History of Art at the Johns Hopkins University. His research uses archaeological approaches to explore the relationship among art, education systems, and statecraft in ancient Mesoamerica.

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