Doris Schattschneider writing in The American Mathematical Monthly commented: "[The book] was written for archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians, but the authors have taken care in their presentation of the geometry of symmetry and color symmetry analysis." H.C. Williams reviewing the book for The Mathematical Gazette said: "This interesting book is written by a mathematician and an anthropologist and is aimed primarily at the non-mathematician. That said, it is well worth the attention of mathematicians, particularly teachers, who have an interest in pattern."