“I'm a stone and metals man,” quipped Robert Woods Bliss, and indeed, artworks of those materials formed the core of his collection, and still do, at Dumbarton Oaks (DO). Although significant additions were made after his death in 1962, more than half of the 671 objects in the current collection are of stone (225) and metal (187); nearly all of the latter are made of gold (173). Significantly, the majority are from Colombia and Central America where, mostly, only durable materials are preserved. Thus, it is altogether fitting and proper that Pre-Columbian Art from Central America and Colombia at Dumbarton Oaks is a large, sumptuous tome, the fifth in the catalog series, a project that began in the early 1990s; it builds on a 1947 catalog produced by Bliss himself, as well as two editions by a team headed by Samuel K. Lothrop in 1957 and 1959. For transparency, I was managing editor for some of the volumes published in the 1990s, though I aim to be impartial in this review.

The detailed research on and publishing of the collection in the new catalog follow Bliss's commitment to such efforts while expanding that dedication to include many Latin American scholars in its development and publication. Indeed, Bliss's objective was that his collections would not only be appreciated as art but also prized and used for their research values. The recent devotion to those commitments was furthered by a workshop at the Peabody Museum, another at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, and much work at DO itself. These efforts included many more participants than the great number of contributors to the catalog and resulted in another volume of essays, Pre-Columbian Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador: Toward an Integrated Approach, also reviewed here.

Central American and Colombian objects comprise one-third of the DO collection (271 of 671 objects) because Bliss's interests and collecting focused purely on the beauty and artistry displayed in objects; that is, on what he liked. Thus, he was not biased toward objects of “higher cultures,” though he had plenty of those as well. Partaking of that spirit, the volumes’ editors and authors not only provide detailed discussions of the objects but also emphasize the larger cultural and social contexts of the people who made and used them, which are fully expressed in the catalog and more expansively in the companion volume.

The didactic mission of the editors is gift-wrapped in two large, beautiful books with numerous illustrations, most in color, and by a two-page chronological chart and two maps in the opening pages of the catalog. Following the chart and maps are eight full-page illustrations of stone- and metal-working techniques that will soon grace the slides of many a professor's lectures. These are followed by an introduction (Hoopes, McEwan, and Cockerell), a history of the collection at DO (Murro), and a chapter on jade working (Hoopes, Mora-Morín, and Kovacevich).

The catalog continues, organized by object type and region, with two introductory essays each for sections on jade and gold. For the jade section, David Mora-Morín presents “The Anthropomorphic Celtiform Pendant Theme of the Jade Tradition of Costa Rica,” which is followed by “A Noninvasive Approach to the Study of Jade Artifacts from Central America,” with six authors led by Julie Lauffenburger. Thereafter, each of 76 pendants, as well as 12 other objects (a mace head, ear spools, tubes, and beads) and four groups of beads and tubes strung as necklaces are accompanied by large illustrations and commentaries.

The coverage of gold objects is organized by their known or inferred places of origin: Finca 4 in the Diquís Delta, Costa Rica (8 objects); Playa Venado, Panama (2, and 6 of shell); Greater Chiriquí and Greater Coclé (72); and Colombia (31). “Metallurgy in Costa Rica” (Fernandez-Esquivel) opens the section followed by “Monumentality and Portability” (F. Corrales Ulloa), which discusses the relationship between Diquís gold and the famous stone balls of the region, with entries for the collection's gold objects thereafter.

After more than 600 pages in the catalog, the reader is presented with an appendix, “Compositional Analyses for the Pre-Columbian Metal Objects from the Dumbarton Oaks Collection” (Beaubien, Harrison, and Cullen Cobb), a glossary, and an illustrated fauna glossary (Cooke et al.). Notes on contributors, references cited, a visual index, and an index conclude the volume.

Although coverage in the catalog is restricted to the geocultural regions pertaining to the objects in the Bliss collection, the editors were free to extend coverage in the companion book: they break free of the limiting “Intermediate Area” term and offer a scope stretching from Mesoamerica to Ecuador and the Caribbean. Colin McEwan justifies “casting the net wide” in his preface. This broad view continues in the first four chapters of the volume via a general introduction (Hoopes et al.); a review of previous research, publications, conferences, discussions of terminology, and more (Hoopes and Salgado); a call for a “paradigm shift” by Rosemary Joyce; and an overview by Richard Cooke of the Isthmo-Colombian area from its first inhabitants to the survival of precolumbian traditions in Greater Coclé, Panama. These authors point to the complex relationships among geography, ecology, genetics, language, material culture, and identities, with greater or lesser emphasis according to their interests.

Following the introductory chapters, the book is divided into seven sections from Mesoamerica to Ecuador, each with a chronological chart and map. The Mesoamerica section begins with an essay on the connections between Mesoamerica and Colombia (Doyle et al.), which focuses on various artifacts of note. A study of the Central American origins of the gold disks from the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chichén Itza (M. Miller) and a chapter on other metal objects from the Cenote (Ortiz Díaz et al.) follow. The next section, Nicaragua, includes a chapter on the ceramics of Pacific Nicaragua (McCafferty and Dennett) and another on the monumental stone sculpture of central Nicaragua (Geurds). A single chapter, by R. Jeffrey Frost, covers Costa Rica; it focuses on the patterning of Chiriquí villages. The Panama section follows with three articles on Sitio Conte (O'Day, Erickson and Fenton, and Fenton) and another on the social complexity in evidence in the related El Caño site (Fenton). Colombia is also accorded a single chapter—a detailed study of the famous golden “Muisca Raft,” now in the Museo de Oro in Bogotá, by Uribe Villegas and coauthors. The Caribbean section includes two short chapters: a general view of the islands’ relations with Terra Firme (Rodríguez Ramos and Hoopes) and a “cautionary tale” on making connections between the two regions while highlighting a “diffuse iconographic unity” shared between the Antilles and Isthmo-Colombia (Curet and Oliver). The final section, on Ecuador, consists of chapters considering the networks of interaction along the Pacific Corridor (Jaramillo Arango); an examination of dualism, quadripartition, and spatial hierarchy in early to late prehistoric Ecuador (Zeidler); and a cross-cultural comparison of “Seats, Seating, and Social Roles” by Colin McEwan and Matthew Looper. The chapters are followed by a glossary, notes on contributors, references cited, and an index.

There is a wealth of information in these essays. Devoting only one chapter to Costa Rica and Colombia is understandable given the extensive coverage of those areas in the catalog. Quibbles might be raised as to why some topics or authors were included or chosen, and specialists will certainly find issues to debate (that's what we do). Yet the fact that another volume, equal in size, could be produced in addition to this one only underscores how much high-quality research is being carried out in those rich and diverse lands stretching from Mesoamerica to the Central Andes. The editors have picked their authors well to provide both in-depth coverage of essential issues of peoples and cultures while maintaining an emphasis on understanding them through the study of their material remains.

These books offer some of the most important recent discussions of a wide range of topics and themes that will be of interest to an even wider range of scholars, from those interested in the technology of working metals and stones, to those interested in the history of collections, to specialists with interests from Mexico to Peru. And in these days of inflation, the comparatively low prices for the volumes—gauged by their sheer quantity of information, levels of scholarship, and quality of production—are noteworthy and commendable. The catalog is unique in English-language publications in its extensive, in-depth coverage of the creations of the prehistoric peoples of Isthmo-Colombia, whereas the companion volume is a valuable addition to scholarship of much-too-neglected regions and topics.

Colin McEwan has the unique but sad distinction of being a coeditor for both volumes and having them dedicated in memory of him. Although his accomplishments were many, these volumes and the work he did in organizing and encouraging authors, and in myriad other tasks_, will serve as significant and lasting monuments to his scholarship and energies. So, too, his coeditor John Hoopes deserves high praise and recognition for his scholarly acumen and work in seeing these volumes to completion, as do many other members of the DO community and beyond.