Weaving the past: a history of Latin America's indigenous women from the prehispanic period to the present

Introducing the indigenous women of Latin America. Some introductory remarks ; Some useful concepts ; Some background on Latin America's earliest women

Of warriors and working women: gender in later prehispanic Mesoamerica and the Andes. Women and gender among northern and central Mexican peoples: parallel organizations, hierarchical ideologies ; The postclassic Ñudzahui: elite gender complementarity ; The Maya of the classic and postclassic periods: the flexible patriarchy ; The Andes: women and supernatural and state power ; Conclusion

Colliding worlds: indigenous women, conquest, and colonialism. Gender, sex, and violence in the conquest era ; Laboring women: paying tribute, losing authority ; Family and religious life: the paradoxes of purity and enclosure ; A rebellious spirit ; Conclusion

With muted voices: Mesoamerica's twentieth- and twenty-first century women. Nahua women: complementarity within submissiveness ; Oaxaca: land of the "matriarchs"? ; Maya women: working, weaving, changing ; Conclusion

Fighting for survival through political action and cultural creativity: indigenous women in contemporary South and Central America. Women in the Andes: revolutionizing tradition in the highland cultures of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia ; Women in the tropical lowlands of South America: egalitarian political structures, female subordination, and the fight for cultural survival ; Indigenous women in Central America: searching for empowerment in diverse circumstances ; Conclusion

Indigenous women: creating agendas for change

Organizations mentioned in the text and their acronyms.