legendary area that encompasses the American Southwest and portions of Mexico long before they were separated by an international border. The book and accompanying exhibition view Aztlan as a metaphoric centre and allegorical place of origin for the various peoples of the Southwest and Mexico. Cultural interactions between the two areas span two millennia, beginning with maize cultivation, which spread north from Mexico around BC 1200. The book also investigates the relationship between myth and history as expressed in art and material culture of the region's inhabitants over time and the relationship and continuities of cultural practices over the course of the pre-Columbian, colonial, and contemporary eras. Crucial to these changing relationships are aspects of tradition and innovation within cultures as! people sought to negotiate, maintain, and redefine their identities in the face of social disruption.

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