Hi all, lurker and first-time poster.
I'm a college student whose majors rarely have anything to do with history (except for where/what the Renaissance and Enlightenment did), but recently, I've become fascinated with Mesoamerican cultures, especially the Inca civilization, and to a lesser extent, the Aztecs (or Mexica, I'm not clear on which is more accurate to describe what the Spanish took over from Moctezuma II) and Maya. I've spent the last few weeks scouring Wikipedia and other easy online sources looking to learn more about them, but I was wondering if anyone here could direct me to any specific books/articles that are of particular pertinence to learning about and understanding these cultures.
I've been on a mission to learn about all the parts of history that I never learned in school (I live in the Southern US and most of what I've learned, even in college, has been obviously Euro-centric), so anything here helps! Thanks in advance!
Edit: Clarified that I have two majors, English and Philosophy. I've focused on literature around the Commonwealth for my English degree and ethics for my Philosophy degree, so I haven't had the opportunity to learn about other stuff outside of electives.
I've become fascinated with Mesoamerican cultures, especially the Inca
For the sake of clarity, the Inca Empire was not a Mesoamerican civilization. Mesoamerica is a region mostly in central and southern Mexico with some spill over into the neighboring nations to the immediate south (map). The Aztec and the Maya definitely fit into this region, but the Inca in Peru do not. So would you say you're interested in Pre-Columbian societies in general, the Mesoamerican and Andean ones more specifically, or just the three most famous ones (nothing wrong with that if you are, they're a good place to start).
Regardless, here's a list of books I recommend. Hopefully you'll find a few that will hold your interest. If you have more specific questions, we've got several people around here that would be happy to help out.
Hey there!
The list Reedstilt has given is quite comprehensive, so I'll step in as a South American specialist.
As mentioned, the Inca are vastly separated from Mesoamerica, and they were just the last of a diverse group of cultures to occupy the Andes. I would recommend you start exploring the Andes by readings some answers on the sub. /u/qhapaqocha and I have profiles with some of our best answers. The pre-Columbian Americas AMA might also interest you.
You might find some more books on our AH reading list.
If there are any historical or cultural topics from prior study that interest you, I can direct you towards good authors/articles for those.
I recently put together this list for someone interested in South American art:
Online resources:
Museo Larco has the best of its collection on Google Cultural Institute, primarily North Coast stuff, but all high quality
The Met has a good online collection, just search "Peru" or "Bolivia" or "Ecuador"
LACMA has some Nazca and Moche stuff
The British Museum has a lot, but you'll have to dig through it all to find interesting things. I recommend searching "ceramics" or "textiles"
The Art Institure of Chicago has over 1500 pieces from Peru alone, with good snippets of textile iconography popping up immediately and good ceramics later on.
When all else fails, Google Cultural Institute is your friend. Search the Chavin, Wari, Cupisnique, Moche, Nazca, Paracas, or Chimu culture.
Some of the most famous stone sculptures include:
The Raymondi Stela from Chavin de Huantar (drawing)
The Gateway of the Sun from Tiwanaku (some drawings and photos in there)
The Ponce Monolith from Tiwanaku (it's got a lot of fine details that are really hard to capture in photographs)
Do some exploring, and see if you find anything cool! Once you do let us and know and we can point you to some more specific.
