"A very refreshing look at the nature of Maya pottery production. it will open the eyes of many researchers to the depth of indigenous knowledge on pottery production and to a new way of thinking about the relationship between the potter and his/her raw materials." --Michael Deal, Memorial University "Studies like this are very important indeed. Arnold's research is aimed at bridging the gap between static archaeological phenomena and the dynamic social, cultural, and cognitive aspects of behavior. The end result is a bridging argument or middle-range research that sometimes is the only way to understand the complex relationship between the fragments of matter that make up the archaeological record and the human behavior behind this material record." --Eduardo Williams, El Colegio de Michoacán "Brilliant. This book is for anyone who is interested in or who studies Maya ceramics, either ancient or modern. It is for anyone interested in indigenous art or in the process of artistic production, either inside or outside the academy.

It is for artists, art historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, for professional scholars, or a generally interested public. Indeed, the book should be required reading for anyone focused on Maya ceramics." -- The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology "[Arnold] is the world's most prolific and accomplished scholar of ceramic ethnoarchaeology. Most useful to those deeply involved in the ethnographic study of craft production and to archaeologists focused on ceramics." --CHOICE "There is much food for thought in this new book that archaeologists should consider in evaluating their own data.The result of this volume is that Arnold has created a new way of thinking.This is a cogent, thought-provoking book with compelling data and persuasive arguments, and belongs on any anthropologist's bookshelf. " --SAS Bulletin "Zack's book should be evaluated as the third and greatest contribution in publicizing the Lisu in the wider world.

It's not just a page turner--it is a valuable record of her association with the Lisu people over thirty years." --Anthropos "Once again, Arnold has produced a volume that is both data-rich and theoretically challenging." --Journal of Anthropological Research "Arnold employs an ingeniously holistic perspective. [his] hands-on and study-by-doing approach delves into all cultural and technological choices used in sustainable ecological production, and personally acquires more intimate knowledge of raw materials, physical properties, habitual working postures, motor skills, and aural, visual, and tactile feedback insights." -- Latin American Antiquity " A n exceptional monograph that provides extraordinary detail on the people, pots, and landscape of Ticul. The storytelling quality of Arnold's writing makes reading this book feel more like reading a good novel, a feat not often achieved in academic writing. a contribution that cannot be overstated." --Ethnoarchaeology.