Aztec Empire
Many library resources on the Aztec Empire will be found in the F1218.5-1221 LC call number range. Keep in mind a that well-crafted thorough search is vital as resources may be found in other call number ranges, as well. The list below is far from exhaustive and serves as an introduction to available sources on the Aztec Empire.
México Profundo by
This translation of a major work in Mexican anthropology argues that Mesoamerican civilization is an ongoing and undeniable force in contemporary Mexican life. For Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, the remaining Indian communities, the "de-Indianized" rural mestizo communities, and vast sectors of the poor urban population constitute the MÉxico profundo . Their lives and ways of understanding the world continue to be rooted in Mesoamerican civilization. An ancient agricultural complex provides their food supply, and work is understood as a way of maintaining a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Health is related to human conduct, and community service is often part of each individual' life obligation. Time is circular, and humans fulfill their own cycle in relation to other cycles of the universe. Since the Conquest, Bonfil argues, the peoples of the MÉxico profundo have been dominated by an "imaginary MÉxico" imposed by the West. It is imaginary not because it does not exist, but because it denies the cultural reality lived daily by most Mexicans. Within the MÉxico profundo there exists an enormous body of accumulated knowledge, as well as successful patterns for living together and adapting to the natural world. To face the future successfully, argues Bonfil, Mexico must build on these strengths of Mesoamerican civilization, "one of the few original civilizations that humanity has created throughout all its history."
Call Number: F1210 .B6613 1996ISBN: 9780292708440Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Aztec Thought and Culture by
For at least two millennia before the advent of the Spaniards in 1519, there was a flourishing civilization in central Mexico. During that long span of time a cultural evolution took place which saw a high development of the arts and literature, the formulation of complex religious doctrines, systems of education, and diverse political and social organization. The rich documentation concerning these people, commonly called Aztecs, includes, in addition to a few codices written before the Conquest, thousands of folios in the Nahuatl or Aztec language written by natives after the Conquest. Adapting the Latin alphabet, which they had been taught by the missionary friars, to their native tongue, they recorded poems, chronicles, and traditions. The fundamental concepts of ancient Mexico presented and examined in this book have been taken from more than ninety original Aztec documents. They concern the origin of the universe and of life, conjectures on the mystery of God, the possibility of comprehending things beyond the realm of experience, life after death, and the meaning of education, history, and art. The philosophy of the Nahuatl wise men, which probably stemmed from the ancient doctrines and traditions of the Teotihuacans and Toltecs, quite often reveals profound intuition and in some instances is remarkably ?modern.? This English edition is not a direct translation of the original Spanish, but an adaptation and rewriting of the text for the English-speaking reader.
Call Number: F1219.3.P5 L43ISBN: 9780806122953Publication Date: 1963
Daily Life of the Aztecs by
Examine the fascinating and often controversial details of the daily lives of the ancient Aztecs through this innovative study written from the perspective of the history of religions. The Aztec people come to life for students, teachers, and interested readers through the exploration of the ceremonial character of their social and symbolic imagination. Insights into the communities they created, the games they played, the education they received, the foods they harvested, and the songs they sang, as well as the sacrificial rituals they performed, enable the reader to gain a better understanding of this complicated culture. The Aztecs organized their society as a microcosm of the cosmos that intricately linked all aspects of their daily lives to the natural and supernatural world. Carrasco explores the details of the Aztecs' lives and provides an in-depth look at all of these connections to help the reader comprehend the complexity of this ancient culture: The Aztec calendar, Aztec religion and myths, Aztec marketplace, Aztec art and architecture, Aztec war, and autosacrifice and sacrifice are just some topics among the vast number that are colorfully presented. Actual Aztec poems and riddles scattered throughout the text, provide an even deeper understanding of their world view. Carrasco also examines the Aztecs' violent encounter with Europeans and illustrates the long-term significance of colonialism and Aztec culture reflected in modern-day Mexican and Mexican American imaginations.
Call Number: F1219.73 .C355 1998ISBN: 9780313295584Publication Date: 1998-07-28
Aztecs by
Inga Clendinnen creates a vivid and dramatic picture of life in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, once the nerve centre of the Aztec tribute empire. She explores the worlds of Aztec women, of priests and of warriors, in an extraordinary recreation of everyday life in the city. Contrasting the beauty and sophistication of Aztec culture with the savagery of human sacrifice, she attempts to explain the philosophy, rituals, and social structures that underpinned this remarkable empire.
Call Number: F1219.76.S64 C44 1991ISBN: 9780521400930Publication Date: 1991-08-30
The History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz Del Castillo by
The History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a new abridgement of Diaz del Castillo's classic Historia verdadera de la conquista de Nueva España, offers a unique contribution to our understanding of the political and religious forces that drove the great cultural encounter between Spain and the Americas known as the "conquest of Mexico." Besides containing important passages, scenes, and events excluded from other abridgements, this edition includes eight useful interpretive essays that address indigenous religions and cultural practices, sexuality during the early colonial period, the roles of women in indigenous cultures, and analysis of the political and economic purposes behind Diaz del Castillo's narrative. A series of maps illuminate the routes of the conquistadors, the organization of indigenous settlements, the struggle for the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, as well as the disastrous Spanish journey to Honduras. The information compiled for this volume offers increased accessibility to the original text, places it in a wider social and narrative context, and encourages further learning, research, and understanding.
Call Number: F1230 .D56513 2008ISBN: 9780826342881Publication Date: 2008-01-01
The Broken Spears by
In this updated edition of a classic, Leon-Portilla has included accounts from native Aztec descendents across the centuries. These texts bear witness to the extraordinary vitality of an oral tradition that perserves the viewpoints of the vanquished instead of the victors.
Call Number: F1230 .V5713 1992ISBN: 9780807055014Publication Date: 1992-05-04
War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica by
In this study of warfare in ancient Mesoamerica, Ross Hassig offers new insight into three thousand years of Mesoamerican history, from roughly 1500 B.C. to the Spanish conquest. He examines the methods, purposes, and values of warfare as practiced by the major pre-Columbian societies and shows how warfare affected the rise of the state.
Call Number: REQUEST THROUGH I-SHAREISBN: 9780520077348Publication Date: 1992-08-19
A War of Witches by
"An overheard plot to do away with an unwanted son-in-law begins this mesmerizing and astonishing journey into the Aztec underworld - a world of magical dreams and mysterious healing, shadowed by a deadly justice." "Aided by two local curanderos, or healers, American anthropologist Timothy Knab embarks on a spellbinding adventure of sacred Atzec rituals and mystical dream journeys into Talocan, the underworld of gods and lost souls. Along the way, he begins to understand the Aztec belief system and the art of healing, as well as the dark past of San Martin - infamous throughout Mexico for its brujos, or witches, and a mysterious "War of Witches" fifty years earlier that may never have ended." "Capturing time and place as surely as a jeweler sets a stone, Timothy Knab chronicles his spiritual immersion into the contemporary Aztec culture and, ultimately, his remarkable transformation into an authentic curandero."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Call Number: REQUEST THROUGH I-SHAREISBN: 0062512641Publication Date: 1995-05-01
The Aztecs by
The Aztecs brings to life one of the best-known indigenouscivilizations of the Americas in a vivid, comprehensive account ofthe ancient Aztecs. A thorough examination of Aztec origins and civilizationincluding religion, science, and thought Incorporates the latest archaeological excavations and researchinto explanations of the Spanish conquest and the continuity ofAztec culture in Central Mexico Expanded coverage includes key topics such as writing, music,royal tombs, and Aztec predictions of the end of the world
Call Number: REQUEST THROUGH I-SHAREISBN: 9781405194976Publication Date: 2011-12-27
The Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica by
The Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica: A Reader brings together twenty-three of the most influential essays by leading scholars to reveal the rich variety of cultures and societies that existed in ancient Mesoamerica.
Call Number: REQUEST THROUGH I-SHAREISBN: 9780631211150Publication Date: 2000-04-07
