both conform to and challenge Western forms of knowledge production. This position also underpins Lekson’s assessment of the new movement known as Indigenous archaeology. He writes, “Archaeology is not Indigenous, any more than physics or economics or political science are Indi- genous” (p. 159). Well yes and no. These disciplines certainly have their origins in Western European insti- tutions, but this does not mean that they cannot be broadened. Indigenous perspectives can lead to new questions and answers about what constitutes the archaeological record. They are also revealing valuable insights into the ontologically complex intersections of the past in the present. Crucially, this broadening of archaeology requires, among other things, the pro- vision of new opportunities for Indigenous peoples to obtain training and secure careers in the profession. In conclusion, the contributions of A study of South- western archaeology are twofold. It challenges South- western archaeology to confront its dominant theories, received assumptions and unexamined biases. This is entirely congruent with Taylor’s message delivered over 70 years ago. Lekson is undoubtedly correct that we have created and reproduced invidious stereotypes in our attempts to understand Indigenous Southwestern peoples and cultures. It also encourages us to consider the Southwest at the appropriate scale—with Chaco positioned alongside other regional polities, such as Tula and Cahokia, in a vast interlinked network incorp- orating different forms of political organisation, some of which can properly be called states. Yet, in the end, Lekson’s exegesis seems more focused on preserving prehistory for archaeologists, than on strengthening Southwestern archaeology for the twenty-first century. References Geertz, C. 1973. The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. New York: Basic. Taylor, W.W. 1948. A study of archaeology (Memoir of the American Anthropological Association 69). Menasha (WI): American Anthropological Association. Robert W. Preucel Department of Anthropology Brown University, USA (Email: robert_preucel@brown.edu) Jane MacLaren Walsh & Brett Topping. The man who invented Aztec crystal skulls: the adventures of Eugène Boban. 2019. New York & Oxford: Berghahn; 978-1-78920-095-9 £60. There is a good chance that any popular book, website or television programme about ‘mysteries’ will feature a crystal skull associated with one part of the hal- lowed trinity of Aztecs, Atlanteans or aliens. Jane MacLaren Walsh and Brett Topping demonstrate that ‘mys- teries’ can be solved, if one is willing to put in the effort. The crystal skulls have occupied the hidden space between sensational museum object and rumoured hoax. The work of Walsh and Topping and others, detailed in the book, puts the ‘mystery’ to bed. As the title suggests, The man who invented Aztec crystal skulls: the adven- tures of Eugène Boban is both a biography and an investigation into the quartz curiosities that have illegitimately become some of the most recognisable artefacts associated with Mesoamerica. The latter aspect provides a stunning insight that I will not spoil here, but brought a smile to my face as I realised the case the authors had been laying out in previous chap- ters. This solution to the mystery of the crystal skulls is only revealed because of the deep research into the life and activities of Eugène Boban (1834–1908), alter- nately the purveyor of bogus Aztec crystal skulls and an important expert collector and scholar of Meso- american archaeology and codices. In tracking the crystal skulls through Boban’s life, Walsh and Topping describe the origins of Mexican archaeology. Prior to the professionalisation of archae- ology, the past was largely left to elite gentlemen of means. Boban’s family in France had a background in the creation of fine objects for the wealthy, arguably the same profession he followed as a purveyor of real Mexican artefacts, human remains and other ques- tionable curios. Walsh and Topping go into extensive detail on the social and historical context of the disas- ters Boban had a knack for encountering. Many of them were the result of the Second French Empire (Boban became known as “the Emperor’s Book reviews © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019 1404