PREFACE 
The present study was done under the auspices 
of the Institute of Social Anthropology, Smith- 
sonian Institution, Washington, D. C., and in 
cooperation with the Escuela Nacional de Antro- 
pologia, Mexico, D. F. The study proposes to 
serve as a background for the various detailed 
pueblo monographs executed in the Tarascan 
area by other members of the Institute. 
Being a report on the cultural geography of a 
region, the present paper is chiefly descriptive, 
although a developmental treatment has been 
employed wherever the scanty historical materials 
would permit. Physical background is only 
briefly considered; emphasis is on material culture, 
particularly modern Tarascan economy: agricul- 
ture, handicrafts, and trade. In addition, an 
attempt is made to describe the areal recession 
of Tarascan speech since Spanish contact. 
Field work was done in April, May, and June 
of 1946. With the exception of Cherandtzicurin, 
all Tarascan towns were visited. Many neigh- 
boring mestizo pueblos (formerly Tarascan) were 
inspected to obtain comparative data. Approxi- 
mately two-thirds of the field season was spent 
in the Sierra. Archival research was done in the 
Archivo del Arzobispado de Michoac&n, Morelia, 
the Archivo General de la Nacién, Mexico, D. F., 
and the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico, 
D. F. 
I am especially indebted to Sr. Pablo Valasquez 
G., a native Tarascan and anthropology student, 
who accompanied me in the field. His intimate 
knowledge of the Tarascan Sierra, its language, 
and many of its customs was an invaluable aid, 
not only in the field, but also while the report 
was in preparation. Velasquez read a large part 
of the manuscript and corrected the use and spell- 
ing of all Tarascan words employed in the text. 
Rosert C. West. 
Mexico, D. F. 
March 1947. 
