| Description |
224 pages ; 25 cm |
| Series |
Ancient peoples and places ; v. 107 |
|
Ancient peoples and places (Thames and Hudson) ; v. 107
|
| Contents |
Introduction: the search for the Aztecs -- pt.1. The conquest of Mexico: no.1. The arrival of the strangers: The expedition of Hernan Cortes -- Motecuhzoma's embassy -- Tenochtitlan -- no.2. The fall of the Aztec empire: The death of Motecuhzoma -- Storming the great pyramid -- The siege and surrender of Tenochtitlan -- pt.2. Immigrants, settlers, and the first state: no.3. Urban traditions and tribal peoples: The Toltec precedent -- The migrants: Chichimecs, Acolhua, Tepanecs, and Mexica -- The Mexica -- no.4. The birth of an empire: The Tepanec expansion -- The sacrifice of Maxtla -- The triple alliance -- pt.3. The climax of empire: no.5. New conquests, new strategies: The chinampa district -- Networks of tribute -- Alliances, clients, and kinship connections -- Netzahualcoyotl's "legalist" system -- no.6. The great expansion: The reign of Motecuhzoma I -- Early imperial monuments -- The reign of Axayacatl: expansion and defeat -- Failure and rebellion under Tizoc -- Ahuizotl's reign: expansion and renewal -- Motecuhzoma II, the last independent ruler -- pt.4. Aztec religion and beliefs: no.7. The Aztec symbolic world: The Aztec deities -- The concept of teotl -- The myths of creation -- The ritual calendar -- no.8. Sacred landscapes: The new fire rites -- The mountains of life: Mt. Tlaloc and Tetzcotzingo -- The great pyramid at Tenochtitlan -- pt.5. The Aztec way of life: no.9. The family and education: Birth and childhood -- Schools and education -- Poetic language, music, and dance -- Marriage -- no.10. Farmers, traders, and artisans: An ancient agricultural tradition -- Chinampas, terraces, and experimental gardens -- The fruits of the earth: Aztec diet -- The markets of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco -- Arts and crafts -- Long-distance traders -- no.11. Priests, warriors, and kings: The priests: servants of the gods -- The warriors -- Aztec kingship: a tlatoani takes office -- no.12. Epilogue -- Annual ceremonies of the Aztecs |
| Summary |
Today the Aztecs seem a remote, alien people. Warlike and bloodthirsty, they are best known as the practitioners of human sacrifice. Yet their creative achievements are impressive: within the space of a hundred years they established the largest empire in Mesoamerican history, and at Tenochtitlan built a vast, shimmering city in a lake, a Venice of the New World whose temple-pyramids, elegant plazas and thronging markets defied the descriptive powers of the |
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conquistadors. Richard Townsend presents the first fully rounded portrait of the Aztecs, integrating military, economic and symbolic approaches to reconcile the apparently contradictory aspects of their culture. He begins with a dramatic narrative of the Spanish conquest and then charts the rise of the Aztecs from humble nomads to empire builders. He shows how war and human sacrifice did indeed act as instruments of terror, but also how their deeper significance lay in |
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making of chocolate to battle tactics. Recent discoveries from archaeological excavations are interwoven with the latest results from studies of the monuments, Spanish records and illustrated codices to produce a fresh and definitive new history of a remarkable people |
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the Aztec belief that the shedding of human blood ensured fertility of the land and renewal of the seasons. Chapters on the ancient deities and festival calendar, the New Fire ceremony and sacred rain-mountains, as well as kingship rites, explore this all-pervading theme in Aztec society of physical and spiritual regeneration. The Aztecs ranges from the everyday life of farmers and priests, artisans and kings, to the sinister spying activities of Aztec traders; from the |
| Analysis |
Aztecs |
|
Mexico History, to 1810 |
|
Mexico History,to 1810 |
|
Aztecs |
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Mexico History,to 1810 |
| Notes |
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-219) |
| Subject |
Aztecs.
|
|
Indians of Mexico.
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| SUBJECT |
Central America -- History -- To 1821.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85021880
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| LC no. |
91067301 |
| ISBN |
0500021139 |
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