Handbook of Middle American Indians Volume 12 Guide to Ethnohistorical

In this review of Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 12: Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, Part One, the bottom line is straightforward: this volume is essential for researchers and students who need a careful guide to primary and secondary ethnohistorical materials for Middle America. Compiled under the editorship of Howard F. Cline and part of a multi-volume Guide assembled with Charles Gibson, John B. Glass and H. B. Nicholson, the book stands out for its focused treatment of geography and ethnogeography, especially the Relaciones Geograficas, and its clear orientation toward source discovery rather than narrative synthesis.

Key Features

• Volume context: Part One is presented as Volume 12 of a larger Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources series, which helps locate materials across the full multi-volume set for systematic research.
• Editorial authority: Edited by Howard F. Cline with noted associate editors, the work benefits from established scholarly oversight and rigorous selection of source types.
• Geography focus: Substantial coverage of geography and ethnogeography, including the Relaciones Geograficas, makes it a practical starting point for place-based historical inquiry.
• Source orientation: Emphasizes locating both European and native traditions of documentation, guiding readers toward prose, pictorial materials, and archival repositories.
• Reference utility: Functions primarily as a guide and checklist of sources rather than a synthetic history, which is useful for bibliographic and archival research planning.

Who It's For

Scholars of Mesoamerican history, graduate students preparing theses, and librarians building research collections will find this volume particularly valuable because it consolidates information about where to locate crucial ethnohistorical documents and explains the landscape of source traditions.

Casual readers or those seeking a concise narrative history should look elsewhere, since the book is a specialist reference focused on sources, repositories and bibliographic guidance rather than accessible storytelling or broad interpretive synthesis.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Consolidates guidance on geography and the Relaciones Geograficas to speed archival searches.
• Edited by established scholars, giving confidence in selection and organization of sources.
• Helps researchers identify both European printed and native prose and pictorial materials and where to find them.

Cons

• Limited appeal outside academic or archival research because it is a source guide rather than a general history.

Specifications

Our Verdict

This volume is a sound investment for anyone assembling or using primary sources on Middle America because it maps the terrain of ethnographic and historical materials with scholarly care. It is good value for researchers who need a reliable, well-edited guide to repositories, printed collections and native documentation across the region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this volume include narrative histories?
Answer. No, it functions as a guide to sources and repositories rather than a synthetic historical narrative.

Who edited the Guide?
Answer. The Guide was assembled under Howard F. Cline with associate editors Charles Gibson, John B. Glass and H. B. Nicholson.

Is this volume part of a larger set?
Answer. Yes, it is Volume 12 and forms part of a multi-volume Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources spanning Volumes 12 through 15.