Aztecs

Das Zentrum von Malinalco. Ueberblick und Vergleich. Das Altertum 1997, vol. 43: 291-306.

by Christiane Clados

Analysis and interpretation of the rock temple of Malinalco. Analysis based on iconographic, archaeological and... more Analysis and interpretation of the rock temple of Malinalco. Analysis based on iconographic, archaeological and ethnohistorical data.

Кодекс Мендоса (Códice Mendoza)

by Alejandro Skromnitsky

Co-authored with V. Talakh,  published in 'Blok.NOT', 2011

Кодекс Мендоса или Кодекс Мендосиано (исп. Códice Mendoza), созданный анонимным автором приблизительно в 1547 году в... more Кодекс Мендоса или Кодекс Мендосиано (исп. Códice Mendoza), созданный анонимным автором приблизительно в 1547 году в Мехико, один из лучших по сохранности среди ацтекских рукописных кодексов. Это второй ацтекский кодекс, переведённый на русский язык специалистами по доколумбовым цивилизациям В. Талахом и А. Скромницким.

Книга рассчитана на студентов, аспирантов и преподавателей исторических факультетов, а также всех тех, кто интересуется историей доколумбовых цивилизаций, и в частности ацтеками.

La época posclásica in Morelos: surgimiento de los Tlahuica y Xochimilca

by Michael E. Smith

The Aztlan Migrations of the Nahuatl Chronicles: Myth or History?

by Michael E. Smith

The role of social stratification in the Aztec empire: A view from the provinces

by Michael E. Smith

Navarrete, La sociedad indígena en la obra de Sahagún

by Federico Navarrete Linares

Navarrete Linares, Federico, “La sociedad indígena en la obra de Sahagún”, en Bernardino de Sahagún. Quinientos años de presencia, Miguel León-Portilla, ed., México, UNAM-Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, 2002, pp. 95-116.

Preindustrial Markets and Marketing: Archaeological Perspectives (2010)

by Gary Feinman

(Gary M. Feinman and Christopher P. Garraty, 2010)

Markets are key contemporary institutions, yet there is little agreement concerning their history or diversity. To... more Markets are key contemporary institutions, yet there is little agreement concerning their history or diversity. To complicate matters, markets have been considered by different academic disciplines that approach the nature of such exchange systems from diametrically opposed perspectives that impede cross-disciplinary dialogue. This paper reviews the theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the detection, development, and significance of markets in the preindustrial past. We challenge both the view that marketing is natural and the perspective that market exchange is unique to modern capitalist contexts. Both of these frameworks fail to recognize that past and present market activities are embedded in their larger societal contexts, albeit in different ways that can be understood only if examined through a broadly shared theoretical lens.We examine the origins, change, and diversity of preindustrial markets, calling for multiscalar, cross-disciplinary approaches to investigate the long-term history of this economic institution.

МЕКСИКАНСКАЯ РУКОПИСЬ 385 «КОДЕКС ТЕЛЛЕРИАНО-РЕМЕНСИС» (с дополнениями из "КОДЕКСА РИОС")

by Alejandro Skromnitsky

Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Conquistadors in Aztec Mexico

by Jenni Hyde

Published in 'The Historian'

Reconocimiento Superficial y Mapeo en Calixtlahuaca en 2006

by Angela Huster

Smith, Michael E., Juliana Novic, Angela Huster, and Peter C. Kroefges
2009    Reconocimiento Superficial y Mapeo en Calixtlahuaca en 2006.  Expresión Antropológica.  36:39-55

Characterization and provenance of lime plasters from the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City)

by Domenico Miriello

Archaeometry 53, 6 (2011) 1119–1141

In this work, we present the results of the analyses of 20 lime plaster samples taken from the Templo Mayor (Great... more In this work, we present the results of the analyses of 20 lime plaster samples taken from the Templo Mayor (Great Temple), the main pyramid of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), the ancient capital of the Mexicas. The samples were analysed to recover information on the mixtures used in the fabrication of the plasters and for the provenance of the raw materials (in particular, limestone) used to make the plasters. The characterization of the samples was done by OM, SEM/EDS, XRF and LA–ICP–MS analyses, while the identification of the provenance of raw materials was done by studying the lumps present in the samples with LA–ICP–MS. The objective of the study was to establish if there was a relationship between changes in the construction techniques employed in the pyramid over time and if there were changes in the provenance of the raw materials. Six different construction phases of this pyramid are analysed, showing the similarities and differences among them, mainly based on differences in the sieving of the aggregates and in the raw materials employed. The provenance studies of the limestone used to make the plasters demonstrated that all the limestone comes from the Tula region.

La muerte de Moquihuix: Los mitos cosmogónicos mesoamericanos y la historia azteca

by Oswaldo Chinchilla

Published in Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl 42:77-108 (2011).

The use of mythical models to explain historical episodes was widespread in ancient Mesoamerica. Sixteenth century... more The use of mythical models to explain historical episodes was widespread in ancient Mesoamerica. Sixteenth century narratives of the defeat of Tlateloloco in 1473, and the death of Moquihuix, king of the vanquished city, contain numerous passages that suggest mythical models. Previous studies by Cecelia Klein, Michel Graulich, and Emily Umberger, highlight parallels with the myth of Coatepec and the death of Coyolxauhqui. In this paper, a broader comparison with widespread Mesoamerican myths about the origin of the sun and the moon explains key aspects of these narratives, including the circumstances of Moquihuix's death and the role of female sexuality.

COMMUNITY STRATEGIES IN THE AZTEC IMPERIAL FRONTIER: PERSPECTIVES FROM TOTOGAL, VERACRUZ, MEXICO

by Marcie Venter

Using archaeological and ethnohistorical data, this dissertation examines the character of the relationship between... more Using archaeological and ethnohistorical data, this dissertation examines the character of the relationship between the Late Postclassic (ca. AD 1250-1520) frontier center of Totogal, located in the western Tuxtla Mountains (Toztlan) of southern Veracruz, Mexico, and the expanding Aztec Empire. Traditional models of imperialism examine frontiers from a core perspective that limits the autonomy and agency of groups in the path of expansion. Recent ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological studies of other boundaries, however, suggest that considerable room for negotiation exists within the space of interactions, whether asymmetrical amounts of power characterize the home bases of those groups.

I argue that elites at Totogal, using imperial symbols and markers of their own high status, sponsored feasts and rituals for the non-elite public, during which they brokered the potentially conflicting interests of the Aztecs and the tribute paying population of the Tuxtlas. The invitation of the public to feasts and rituals that combined imperial and local elite symbols (and possibly green obsidian), naturalized the relationship between local elites and imperial representatives with non-elite occupants of Totogal and nearby settlements by establishing a reciprocal system of gifting whereby food and drink, served in the context of elaborate religious and commensal rituals, provided a benefit to the Tuxteco public which, along with other exotic highland goods, was viewed as an acceptable exchange for the local tribute items that the empire desired.

This study is an important application of current anthropological perspectives on boundaries, borders, and frontiers to the Aztec Empire. It is also a critical examination of the types of strategies individuals and groups living in boundary regions can enact in situations of contact and change. While studies of modern groups in boundary regions have addressed identity construction and manipulation, and other dynamic social, political, and cultural processes that take place, they do not typically or systematically examine how the negotiations that are enacted in boundary zones are materialized—how changing identities are represented symbolically through the use of particular products or consumption patterns. It is in this area that archaeological perspectives on boundary zone interactions can make important contributions to the modern world.

Кодекс Мальябекки (Мексика, XVI век) / Códice Magliabecchiano

by Alejandro Skromnitsky

Кодекс Мальябекки. / под ред. В. Талаха и А. Скромницкого. — К.: Blok.NOT, 2011. — 202 с.

Читателю предлагается впервые переведенный на русский язык интересный памятник XVI века – "Кодекс... more Читателю предлагается впервые переведенный на русский язык интересный памятник XVI века – "Кодекс Мальябекки", представляющий собой прокомментированные испанским автором индейские рисунки, восходящие, по крайней мере частично, к доиспанским пиктографическим текстам. Кодекс содержит ценные сведения по религии и этнографии индейцев Центральной Мексики накануне испансого завоевания.
Книга рассчитана на студентов, аспирантов и преподавателей исторических факультетов, а также всех тех, кто интересуется доколумбовыми цивилизациями, в частности ацтеками.

A Detailed Guide of the Aztec Civilization Pre-Columbian

by Alan Zhong

The Aztec economy was the biggest and one of the most advanced in the world by the start of the 16th century. The... more The Aztec economy was the biggest and one of the most advanced in the world by the start of the 16th century. The Aztec economy’s large size was due to a law which made it illegal to sell products anywhere other than the designated market place. This law was enforced by the notion that one would incur the wrath of the market god if they traded anywhere else. So by the start of the 16th century, Tlatelolco’s marketplace was the largest in the world, with up to 60,000 people trading in it and almost just as much in the other major cities such as Teotihuacan. Since trading was such a large part of the Aztec lifestyle, the empire relied on it for a variety of political reasons. Trade played a major part of creating a system of networks that the Aztec used to receive payments from regions as well as supply the regions with agricultural and military goods. Trade was also an alternative to war, which the Maya predecessors glorified, because trade enabled the Aztec to spread their political and dynastical influence throughout Mexico.

Performing Coatepec: The Raising of the Banners Festival among the Mexica

by Rex Koontz

Koontz, Rex. 2006. Performing Coatepec: The Raising of the Banners Festival Among the Mexica. In Space and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology, ed. Elizabeth Robertson, 371-380. Calgary and Albuquerque: University of Calgary Press and University of New Mexico Press.

Sobre dioses, héroes y novelistas: La reinvención de Quetzalcóatl y la reescritura de la conquista en "El mundo nuevo" de Carlos Fuentes

by Santiago Juan-Navarro

Published in Revista Iberoamericana 62.174 (1996): 103-28.

Attribute-Based Seriation of Postclassic and Early Colonial Sherd Collections From the Basin of Mexico

by Christopher Garraty

Garraty, Christopher P. (2009)

Aztec Teotihuacan: Political Processes at a Postclassic and Early Colonial City-State In the Basin of Mexico

by Christopher Garraty

Garraty, Christopher P. (2006)

Teotihuacan, located in the northeastern Basin of Mexico, is best known for its Preclassic and Classic period... more Teotihuacan, located in the northeastern Basin of Mexico, is best known for its Preclassic and Classic period occupations (ca. 150 B.C.-A.D. 700) but was also an important city-state during the Aztec and Early Colonial periods, circa A.D. 1200-1650. Much has been written about political relations among Aztec city-states in the basin. However, the internal political structures of most city-states remain largely unknown because colonial chroniclers focused mostly on Tenochtitlan-Mexico City and collected little information on the 40 to 50 smaller city-states in the basin. This article addresses the internal political organization of Aztec Teotihuacan and how it changed over time based on analyses of pottery data from the surface collections of the Teotihuacan Mapping Project. A seriation of sherd assemblages using correspondence analysis provides a chronological framework for diachronic analyses. Changes through time pertaining to interresidential status differences and the spatial distributions of elite residences suggest a gradual process of political decentralization. Additionally, pottery and obsidian data, in conjunction with settlement pattern changes, reveal a relocation of the city-state center in the late 1300s or early 1400s, possibly indicating an episode of political upheaval or reorganization.

Intercambio De Mercado Y Consolidación En El Corazón Del Imperio Azteca

by Christopher Garraty

Garraty, Christopher P. (2007)

(English abstract) One important way that empires consolidate power is to undercut the traditional revenue bases of... more (English abstract) One important way that empires consolidate power is to undercut the traditional revenue bases of subject elites and redirect resource flows from subject areas to the imperial capitals. To this end, Aztec imperial rulers implemented a strategy to appropriate marketplace revenues from subject elites in the imperial heartland in the Basin of Mexico. Recent chemistry-based provenance studies of undecorated Aztec plainware and Black-on- orange vessels suggest that pottery made in the Tenochtitlan area penetrated market domains of neighboring polities, including their Acolhua allies in Texcoco. The imperial rulers in Tenochtitlan likely invested in marketplace development to stimulate commercial craft production and export, thus boosting government revenues from market taxation.