Introduction -- Current assumptions about menopause -- Chichimila: a Mayan village -- Stira: a mountain village in Greece -- Getting to know the women -- Being a woman in Chichimila -- Being a woman in Stira -- Comparing reproductive histories, Part 1: From menarche through childbearing -- Comparing reproductive histories, Part 2: Menopause in two cultures -- Menopause: a biocultural event -- Appendix: A comparison of the distribution of fertility patterns for Mayan and Greek women.