México Profundo

Reclaiming a Civilization

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book México Profundo by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Guillermo Bonfil Batalla ISBN: 9780292791855
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: June 28, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
ISBN: 9780292791855
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: June 28, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

This translation of a major work in Mexican anthropology argues that Mesoamerican civilization is an ongoing and undeniable force in contemporary Mexican life.

For Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, the remaining Indian communities, the "de-Indianized" rural mestizo communities, and vast sectors of the poor urban population constitute the México profundo. Their lives and ways of understanding the world continue to be rooted in Mesoamerican civilization. An ancient agricultural complex provides their food supply, and work is understood as a way of maintaining a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Health is related to human conduct, and community service is often part of each individual's life obligation. Time is circular, and humans fulfill their own cycle in relation to other cycles of the universe.

Since the Conquest, Bonfil argues, the peoples of the México profundo have been dominated by an "imaginary México" imposed by the West. It is imaginary not because it does not exist, but because it denies the cultural reality lived daily by most Mexicans.

Within the México profundo there exists an enormous body of accumulated knowledge, as well as successful patterns for living together and adapting to the natural world. To face the future successfully, argues Bonfil, Mexico must build on these strengths of Mesoamerican civilization, "one of the few original civilizations that humanity has created throughout all its history."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This translation of a major work in Mexican anthropology argues that Mesoamerican civilization is an ongoing and undeniable force in contemporary Mexican life.

For Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, the remaining Indian communities, the "de-Indianized" rural mestizo communities, and vast sectors of the poor urban population constitute the México profundo. Their lives and ways of understanding the world continue to be rooted in Mesoamerican civilization. An ancient agricultural complex provides their food supply, and work is understood as a way of maintaining a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Health is related to human conduct, and community service is often part of each individual's life obligation. Time is circular, and humans fulfill their own cycle in relation to other cycles of the universe.

Since the Conquest, Bonfil argues, the peoples of the México profundo have been dominated by an "imaginary México" imposed by the West. It is imaginary not because it does not exist, but because it denies the cultural reality lived daily by most Mexicans.

Within the México profundo there exists an enormous body of accumulated knowledge, as well as successful patterns for living together and adapting to the natural world. To face the future successfully, argues Bonfil, Mexico must build on these strengths of Mesoamerican civilization, "one of the few original civilizations that humanity has created throughout all its history."

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book My Stone of Hope by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Leaving the Gay Place by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Reflections on the Neches by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Visualizing the Sacred by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book e-mail trouble by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book John O. Meusebach by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Postethnic Narrative Criticism by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Fernández de Oviedo's Chronicle of America by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Captain Jack Helm by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book The Fate of Earthly Things by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Comic Book Film Style by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book The Politics of Dependency by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Land, Livelihood, and Civility in Southern Mexico by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book Essays in Ottoman and Turkish history, 1774-1923 by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
Cover of the book How Cities Work by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy