"Paxton has written a well-referenced book for Mesoamerican specialists that reinterprets parts of the Madrid Codex, manuscripts dated before the Hispanic conquest of large areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. . . . With many illustrations, maps, and tables, this well-indexed book will be appreciated by scholars of Mayan calendar, religion, and mythology studies."—Choice
"In this clearly written and beautifully presented book, Paxton supports her calendrical and astronomical arguments in five rewarding appendixes--Appendix D being an invaluable explanation of sixteenth-century Spanish astronomy and its origins."—Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"The author covers a wide range of subjects, including art, archaeology, astronomy, colonial and modern ethnography, and sixteenth century Spanish beliefs. This is a detailed study that is likely to be of interest to specialists and students of Mesoamerican studies."—British Bulletin of Publications