The Tajin Totonac (Kelly and Palerm)

A Smithsonian Institution ethnographic monograph by Isabel Kelly and Angel Palerm, published in 1952, documenting the Totonac people of the Papantla and Tajin region of Veracruz, Mexico, whose ancestors are widely credited by archaeologists with building the monumental site of El Tajin. It records Totonac social organization, agricultural ritual and religious belief as observed in mid-twentieth century fieldwork, including the persistence of pre-Hispanic ritual elements such as the Voladores (flying pole) ceremony alongside Catholic practice. Its strength is systematic, sustained ethnographic fieldwork among a Totonac community at a documented moment. Its limit is that, as a mid-century study, it reflects Totonac practice as it stood in the 1940s rather than the community's continuing development since.