Michael E. Smith is Professor of Anthropology in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He has directed excavations at numerous Aztec sites and is co-editor (with Marilyn Masson) of The Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica: A Reader (Blackwell, 1999) and author of Aztec City-State Capitals (University Press of Florida, 2008).

Select Guide Rating

• List of Figures x List of Tables xivPreface xvGuide to Pronunciation and Spelling xviii1 The Aztecs of Mesoamerica 1Who Were the Aztecs? 3Mesoamerican Context 5The Aztec Environment 7Sources of Information 12Ethnohistory 13Archaeology 20Art History 27Aztec Studies Today 282 The Rise of Aztec Civilization 30Timetables 31Pre-Aztec Civilizations 33The Aztlan Migrations 36Toltecs, Chichimecs, and Aztec Identity 39The Growth of City-States: The Early Aztec Period 40Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period 463 People on the Landscape 60How Many Aztecs? 61The Aztec Diet 65Farming Systems 69Rural Settlement 77The Rural Landscape 814 Artisans and their Wares 82Utilitarian Crafts 82Luxury Crafts 94Otumba: An Aztec Craft Center 1035 The Commercial Economy 108Marketplaces 109Money 116Material Evidence for Aztec Commerce 119A Complex Economy 1246 Family and Social Class 127Growing up Aztec 128Adult Life and Social Roles 131Social Classes 134Commoners 135Nobles and their Palaces 1437 City-State and Empire 152City-States 153Relations Among City-States 159The Empire of the Triple Alliance 163Imperial Strategies and Control 165Mexica Propaganda and the Limits of Empire 1778 Cities and Urban Planning 179City-State Capitals 180Provincial Cities and Towns 184Tenochtitlan 1899 Creation, Death, and the Gods 197Myths of Creation 198Aztec Religion: Historical Background 201The Gods 204Death, Burial, and the Afterlife 21110 Temples and Ceremonies 217Priests 217Human Blood Offerings 219The Templo Mayor 225Public Ceremonies 235Private Rituals 23911 Science, Writing, and Calendars 244Writing 244Calendars and Astronomy 249Technology 259Medicine 26012 Art, Music, and Literature 263Art 263Literature and Poetry 271Music and Dance 27413 Final Glory, Conquest, and Legacy 278The Final Century: 1428–1519 279Conquest by Spain 282The Nahuas under Spanish Rule 290Continuity and Change 296The Aztec Legacy: Modern Nahua Indian Culture 298The Aztec Past and the Mexican Present 300A Wider Perspective 303Notes 305Glossary of Nahuatl Terms 337References 339Index 385