Metepec: Miseria y Grandeza del Barro

188 pages with map, plates, diagrams and appendix. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 3/4") issued in wrappers. From the library of professor George M Foster. First edition, limited to 1000 copies.

Metepec is a city and municipality in the State of Mexico in Mexico. It lies adjacent to the east side of the state capital, Toluca. Mexico City lies further to the east. The name Metepec is from Náhuatl meaning hill of the maguey plants. However, it is also known in the Matlatzinca language as "Nepinta-Tuhi" meaning 'people of corn land' and in the Otomi language as "Ntaguada"." During the Spanish conquest, Gonzálo de Sandoval and his Otomi allies, conquered Toluca, Tenango, Tlacotepec, Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca, Calimaya along with Metepec other Matlatzinca and Mexica population centers, whose lands were then abandoned by the natives. These lands were then redistributed among the Spaniards who participated in the Conquest and to those local chiefs that supported the Spanish. Lands in and around Metepec were given to Captain Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano, who brought the Franciscans in to evangelize the area, and then these lands passed onto the estates of the Counts of Santiago. The area was considered an "alcaldía mayor" (literally 'major mayorship') by 1560 with the village of Metepec as its seat. Records of municipal government transactions begin in the 19th century. Finally, the municipality of Metepec was created in 1821; although this was not ratified by the government of the State of Mexico until 1827. Metepec is known for its pottery items and it is still of economic importance. The artisans of this area have organized into the Asociación de Artesanos de Metepec y la Unión de Alfareros de Metepec, A.C. (Association of Artisans of Metepec and the Union of Potters of Metepec). Principal crafts include objects made from clay, glass and includes saddlemaking. The city has about 300 craftsmen as well as 275 family workshops. The craft Metepec is best-known for is the Arbol de la vida ("Tree of Life") which is a traditional pottery representation of the tree from which Adam and Eve ate from in the Biblical story. Monday is market day in the downtown, called plaza, in which merchants go to sell fruit, vegetables and even few electronics. In recent years, the municipality has increase their economic importance, via shopping malls, commercial plazas and others.

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. Provenance from the executor of Foster's library laid in.

Condition:

Foster's stamp to front wrapper and date and place of acquiry on front end paper, Foster's marginalia and underlining through out, some edge wear with small tears, spine sunned else about very good.