Built by Spanish Franciscan missionaries in the seventeenth century, the magnificent mission church at Acoma Pueblo in west-central New Mexico is the oldest and largest intact adobe structure in North America. But in the 1920s, in danger of becoming a ruin, the building was restored in a cooperative effort among Acoma Pueblo, which owned the structure, and other interested parties. Kate Wingert-Playdon's narrative of the restoration and the process behind it is the only detailed account of this milestone example of historic preservation, in which New Mexico's most famous architect, John Gaw Meem, played a major role.

Following the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s, Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian friars fanned out across the central and southern areas of the country, founding hundreds of mission churches and monasteries to evangelize the Native population. This book documents more than 120 of these remarkable sixteenth-century sites in duotone black-and-white photographs. Virtually unknown outside Mexico, these complexes unite architecture, landscape, mural painting, and sculpture on a grand scale, in some ways rivaling the archaeological sites of the Maya and Aztecs. They represent a fascinating period in history when two distinct cultures began interweaving to form the fabric of modern Mexico. Many were founded on the sites of ancient temples and reused their masonry, and they were ornamented with architectural murals and sculptures that owe much to the existing Native tradition-almost all the construction was done by indigenous artisans. With these photos, Spears celebrates this unique architectural and cultural heritage to help ensure its protection and survival.

The 1997 conference of the British Archaeological Association was held in Glasgow and took the Cathedral there ars its main theme. This volume includes many of the papers given at the conference. Follwoing a general introduction on the building history of the cathedral, there are chapters covering the cult of St Kentigern, the major excavations of 1992-3, the design of the crypt, the choir and its timber ceiling. Other chapters look at aspects of patronage, the wider architectural context of the cathedral, and at the Romaneque sculpture and manuscripts with the diocese.