This is a translation of a book which appeared in France in 1959 as part of a series designed for collectors and “twentieth-century connoisseurs.” Obviously it should be reviewed in these terms rather than as an archeological monograph, and predictably it deals primarily with the prehistoric ceramics of the high civilizations from Mexico through Central America to the Peruvian area. Other areas of the New World are treated very casually. Within these self-imposed limits Lehmann describes the major wares and styles, and illustrates them with selected examples. It would seem to this reviewer, however, that the needs of the collector are only partially met in that fuller treatment is necessary for positive identification.
Recent information not used by Lehmann pushes the first appearance of pottery in the New World back to at least 2500 B.C., almost 1500 years earlier than the figure he uses. In fact considerable more information is available on time depth and culture sequence than is apparent in this book. One unfortunate result of double translation yields a description of pottery decorated with the impressions of braided hair, an unknown technique.
The chapters on fakes and forgeries and market prices are far too general to be useful, and it is unfortunate that nowhere in this book designed for the collector is there mention of the antiquities’ laws of various nations which have bearing on the legality of procurement, shipment, and ownership of prehistoric items.
