Unknown Mexico: A Record of Five Years' Exploration (Antiquities of the New World)

by K. Lumholtz

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: History, Adventure

2 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to Lumholtz's account of his expeditions to Mexico--published in two volumes--without a background in anthropology or the history of anthropology, but I'll do my best. While quaint and often patronizing, it's very readable. While some of his descriptions of the indigenous peoples he studied and lived among are uncomfortable for a contemporary reader to swallow--affectionately referring to them as "my dusky friends"--he does often express an admiration for his subjects and anger at their treatment by the Mexican government and their Mexican neighbors, and at the end of the book, expresses a hope for a global community in which we all learn from and respect each other and have greater allegiance to humankind as a whole than one's own culture. I'm not sure where Lumholtz would be placed among the prevailing perspectives of his time. I enjoyed learning about the native cultures in Mexico, which as an American I did not learn about growing up. I also enjoyed it as a primary source for how white anthropologists dealt with their subjects at this time,

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful old book by traveller in Sierra Madre explaining in great detail the lives of Tarahumara and other Indians living over a century ago. so much wisdom in these older books

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a great book about Mexico, but a good source for what a Jules Verne/steampunk scientific expedition would be like, and lots of psychedelic western material. And there's a second volume!

[Cole Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do I need to do to get this job.