Por Tierras Ignotas. Viajes y Observaciones en la Region del Rio de las Balsas

2 volumes: 260 pages with maps (some folding), illustrations, plates (some in color) and figures; 253 pages with maps, tables, illustrations, figures, plates, bibliography and index. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 7 1/4") volume one rebound in green cloth with gilt lettering to spine and original wrappers bound in; volume 2 bound in original wrappers. Inscribed to Professor George M Foster. Copy 244 of 1000 copies issued. First edition.

A mining engineer turned ethnologist, the author has done a much needed service by studying in anthropological terms an isolated region inhabited by mestizos. As the method was extensive rather than intensive, the data are mostly in the realm of material culture and linguistics. This work covers all aspects of the area surveyed, from the geography, climate, indigenous peoples, their economics as well as the history. This includes language, the archaeology of the region and a survey of even some potential sites. A scarce work on this subject.

George McClelland Foster, Jr born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on October 9, 1913, died on May 18, 2006, at his home in the hills above the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a professor from 1953 to his retirement in 1979, when he became professor emeritus. His contributions to anthropological theory and practice still challenge us; in more than 300 publications, his writings encompass a wide diversity of topics, including acculturation, long-term fieldwork, peasant economies, pottery making, public health, social structure, symbolic systems, technological change, theories of illness and wellness, humoral medicine in Latin America, and worldview. The quantity, quality, and long-term value of his scholarly work led to his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1976. Virtually all of his major publications have been reprinted and/or translated.

Condition:

Foster's stamps on front wrappers and tiles. Volume one inscribed to Foster on the front end paper, some extremity wear else a very attractive set.