Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians, from Mexico and the US offer a new perspective on Hispanic colonial society by analyzing an early multi-ethnic graveyard in the town of Campeche, on the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Archaeological and documentary evidence reveals the prevailing religious norms and the political strategies by which the Spanish crown forced European society on the local population. Juxtaposed to that are skeletal remains that expose the human hardship and suffering, the new burdens of disease and death at an early age, discrimination, and forced assimilation. Among the topics are burial and mortuary rituals, mortality and social organization, dental enamel hypoplasia, body modifications, and the African presence. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
