Abstract
IN these two books, widely different aspects of Mexico are presented; but they should be read in conjunction, if it is desired to obtain a complete picture of what- Mexico has become after four hundred years of contact with European civilization. The term ‘contact’ is used advisedly. Although it is a common assumption that the people of what is generally called Latin America are the heirs of Spanish, or more strictly Iberic culture, of most of them, at least so far as the general run of the populace is concerned, it would be more correct to say that their inheritance is fundamentally Indian, but with modifications by European tradition and forms of religious belief. This is certainly true of Mexico, perhaps above all the others; for, of the Mexican population one third is of pure Indian stock, and not more than one sixth is of unmixed white blood. Sixty different languages or dialects are still spoken within its borders and more than a million of the people have no Spanish. In the north, indigenous Indian tribes, Yaqui, Cora, Tarahumare and others, are virtually untouched by modern civilization.
(1) An Eye-Witness of Mexico
By R. H. K. Marett. Pp. xi + 268 + 8 plates. (London, New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1939.) 8s. 6d. net.
(2) Mexican Mosaic
By Rodney Gallop. Pp. 300 + 48 plates. (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1939.) 15s. net.
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(1) An Eye-Witness of Mexico (2) Mexican Mosaic. Nature 144, 883 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144883a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144883a0