A wonderful book about the myths and theories, some plausible and some preposterous, that have accumulated over the ages about the origins of the peoples of ancient America. Esther Pasztory treats them all with wisdom and wit ... If all this were not enough, Esther Pasztory, turns her conclusion into the most readable introduction we now have of what everyone needs to know about ancient American art. Nothing could be a more appealing and acute entry into the subject as a whole. ―From the foreword by David Freedberg, PhD, author of The Power of Images Why, today, do ... farfetched ideas enjoy the popularity that they do? Dr. Pasztory is a highly respected art historian with an international reputation in the field of pre-Columbian art. She is especially well known for her work at the ancient city of Teotihuacán in Central Mexico. Having spent a long career studying the works of the great civilizations of the Americas, no one is better qualified than she to provide an answer. ―From the introduction by William A. Haviland, PhD, coauthor of textbooks including Anthropology: The Human Challenge