Aquatic Adaptations in Mesoamerica explores the subsistence strategies that ancient Mesoamericans implemented to survive and thrive in their environments. It discusses the natural settings, production sites, techniques, artifacts, cultural landscapes, traditional knowledge, and other features linked to human subsistence in aquatic environments. The study is based on analyses of fishing, hunting, gathering, and manufacture (among other activities), all of which were integral elements of aquatic lifeways. In addition to the aquatic lifeways themselves, salt-making, and intensive agriculture developed and practiced in lakes and marshes are also examined. The study adopts a perspective based on ethnoarchaeology and ethnohistory, complemented by archaeological field data.

'This is a monumental contribution… This pioneering work will stand and endure as a landmark publication, an inspiration for future studies of this sort in Mexico and in other parts of the world...' - Jeffrey R. Parsons, University of Michigan

‘I am convinced this book will become an instant classic on the subject and it will be referenced in future articles in this journal. The style is informative for students of anthropology, geography, and related disciplines like sustainable engineering. Followers of Lo-TEK (Traditional Environmental Knowledge) will find here excellent source material and ideas to further recover and adapt traditional ways.’ – Ramón Folch González (2023): Ethnoarchaeology, DOI: 10.1080/19442890.2023.2184909

Eduardo Williams obtained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in 1989. He joined the faculty of the Colegio de Michoacán (Zamora, Mexico) in 1990, where he holds the post of Professor in the Center for Archaeological Research. He has published several books, including La sal de la tierra (2003, winner of the Alfonso Caso Prize awarded by the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History), and Ancient West Mexico in the Mesoamerican Ecumene (Archaeopress, 2020). Professor Williams has been a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences since 2002.