The present study offers new information on salt production in MichoacAn, broadening our perspectives on the role played by common salt, or sodium chloride, in the cultural development of the pre-Hispanic Tarascan state. The research on which this book is based began in 1996 with an interdisciplinary perspective that combines archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnohistorical approaches, as well as oral history. The geographical areas where fieldwork was conducted by the author were the eastern part of the Lake Cuitzeo Basin, and the northern area of the MichoacAn coast with the adjoining...