Ancient West Mexico in the Mesoamerican Ecumene

have opportunity to learn about traditional religion or agricultural practice – rather, they are turning their attention to opportunity outside of the community. For these reasons, Boremanse laments the near “extinction” of the northern Lacandon, though I take some issue with the conflating of cultural practices and people, especially considering there are many who still identify as “Hach Winik,” and perhaps in higher numbers than before. As noted earlier, the observations included in the book focus almost exclusively on Boremanse’s interactions with a select group of married men. This gendered perspective is not uncommon in ethnographies of the Maya and is largely attributable to strict gender roles among the Lacandon. It is unlikely that Boremanse was permitted to observe and communicate with women as freely as he was men. Still, this perspective is quite limiting, and although the reader is carefully shepherded through the intricacies of ritual practice, the implications of such rituals and their role in the wider community are underexplored. This book is intended for scholars and others that already have a fairly strong sense of Maya culture and history and is ideal for researchers interested in Indigenous religious practices of Mexico and Central America. Certainly, given the extensive exploration of material culture, and particularly the use of clay incense burners, the book also has utility for Maya archaeologists. Boremanse’s observations of contemporary practices of depositing clay vessels in caves and around Maya ruins informs interpretations of similar deposits recovered from Precolumbian contexts. It is important to note, however, that the Lacandon are likely not the descendants of the people whose ruins they traverse today, and as such no direct historical association should be made between the practices of the past and those noted in the book. Taken as a whole, Ruins, Caves, Gods, and Incense Burners is an excellent and novel addition to a fairly robust corpus of ethnographic data concerning the Lacandon. The book’s strengths lie in its utility to other researchers, including archaeologists, and its careful attention to detail and nuance.