This book synthesizes research conducted during nine field seasons in the Marismas Nacionales, an extensive West Mexican estuarine-lagoon system. The archaeological research, directed by Stuart D. Scott, took place in the context of a field school under the auspices of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Scott followed his initial reconnaissance in 1967 with seven consecutive summers of archaeological field investigations, ending in 1974. A geologic/geomorphological component, added to the project in 1971, was completed in 1975.

At the project's onset the prehistory of West Mexico was understudied, and no prior archaeological research had taken place within the Marismas Nacionales. Consequently, the project's focus was to establish the basic culture history, guided by a cultural-ecological approach that was the dominant archaeological paradigm at the time. The range of data collected throughout the entire project included aspects of geography, geology, biology and history, which project participants reported in annual reports, master's theses, doctoral dissertations, conference papers, journal articles, and book chapters. Accordingly, project findings were widely scattered and sometimes difficult to obtain. Although this synthetic and interpretative volume appears over 40 years after the final field season, its appearance is a welcomed contribution to the increasing scholarship on the still understudied topic of West Mexican prehistory.

Project members excavated approximately 13 archaeological sites and made limited observations at several additional locations. These studies permitted the researchers to establish a tripartite chronology for the timespan between circa 3000 BC and the Spanish incursion, the time represented by the studied sites. The earliest temporal division, Costanero (ca. 3000 BC to AD 300), coincides with the Late Archaic period through the Preclassic period in the general Mesoamerican chronology. Only one site, Cerro El Calón, may have formed during this time span, although a radiocarbon date from a second site is mentioned as confirming evidence for contemporary human occupation. The subsequent temporal division, Estero (AD 300–700) coincides with the Early Classic period. It is followed by a hiatus, from AD 700–900/1000, during which time the study area flooded and became unsuitable for human occupation. The third division in the cultural chronology, Conchera (AD 900 until the time of contact), coincides with the Postclassic period. Both the Estero and Conchera phases (my term, the authors use “period”) are subdivided, the former into early and late subphases and the latter into early, middle, and late subphases. The dates for the Costanero phase are based solely on radiocarbon assays, all of which were run on shell samples. These samples present a series of technical and other problems that vex the authors of the chapter on chronology. The dates of the other time divisions are less troublesome because they are based on cross dating, principally with the cultural sequences at Chametla and Amapa, as well as on radiocarbon dates.

The book begins with a chapter by Stuart D. Scott on the introduction to the project and its history, followed by two chapters by Michael S. Foster. The first presents a geomorphological model of the dynamic coastline from pre-Wisconsinan times to the present, as well as descriptions of present-day biomes and results of pollen studies of several sediment cores. The second summarizes key archaeological investigations in West Mexico, both prior and subsequent to the field project. Foster and Scott jointly authored the next two chapters, with the first chapter focusing on chronology and the second on site descriptions. The latter includes a discussion of the perplexing 23 m high Calón shell mound that was discovered but unexcavated during Scott's project. More recent investigations have only deepened questions concerning its age, formation processes, and function. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to artifact descriptions and are authored by Foster. The first of these chapters describes ceramics, whereas the second treats other artifacts. The well- illustrated chapter on ceramics focuses primarily on painted wares and documenting their affinities to known regional typological classifications but according to Foster “. . . have done little to expand or resolve current typological, temporal, and technological issues regarding the prehistoric ceramic traditions of the northwest Mexican coast” (p. 204). Chapter 8, authored by Foster, is a summary of diet and subsistence. The reported findings focus on faunal remains; relevant botanical remains were almost nonexistent. Chapter 9, also authored by Foster, summarizes mortuary practices deduced from 248 investigated burials. The author concludes that the society within the Marismas Nacionales was not highly ranked and that mortuary offerings correlate primarily with age and sex. The following two chapters focus on skeletal biology with the first, authored by George W. Gill, on Postclassic period paleopathologies and cultural modifications. The information from various osteological sources come principally from five sites and when possible compares earliest Postclassic period populations with the latest ones. Information includes mortality, injury, disease, cultural practices, aesthetics and cultural change. Gill participated in the project as a graduate student and used the burial data for his dissertation project. In Chapter 11, Gill and bioarchaeologist Henry W. Case discuss other skeletal characteristics leading them to conclude that migration and subsequent biological change best explains the data. In the last data chapter, Patricia Kay Scott summarizes the ethnohistorical period for West Mexico generally and the Marismas Nacionales more specifically. She relies solely on written documentation since no early historic period archaeological sites were investigated. Nonetheless, the evidence shows that despite the drastic consequences of Spanish contact, many cultural traits are observed today among traditional peoples. The book concludes with a summary chapter co-authored by Scott and Foster.

Despite the unusually long interval between fieldwork and publication, much of the presented data are as valuable today as when initially gathered. The chronology chapter is one exception to this generalization because of significant advances over the last 40 years in preparation, processing, and interpretation of samples that are dated by means of radiocarbon assays.

A substantial amount of credit for shepherding this book to press is due to the editor, Michael S. Foster, who, while a graduate student, served as a teaching assistant and field director during two field seasons, and who based his master's thesis on a project site. As noted, Foster is the sole author of six of the thirteen chapters and co-author with Scott on three more chapters. However, all contributing authors are to be commended for bringing this book to fruition. Clearly they resisted retirement's temptations in order to produce this handsome, informative book.