ABSTRACT
The foci of Mesoamerican studies have long been in two areas: Central Mexico and the region occupied by the Maya. West Mexico has been declared out of the mainstream and, indeed, it has been suggested that it is even out of Mesoamerica. The slighting of a major high culture of West Mexico, the Tarascan, appears to be a result of mistakenly thinking that Mesoamerican studies are based on geography rather than theory.
