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The Aztecs 2e
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More About This Title The Aztecs 2e

  • English

English

Michael E. Smith is Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Albany. 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).
  • English

English

List of Figures.

List of Tables.

Preface.

Guide to Pronunciation and Spelling.

1. The Aztecs of Mesoamerica.

Who Were the Aztecs?

Mesoamerican Context.

The Aztec Environment.

Sources of Information.

Ethnohistory.

Archaeology.

Aztec Studies Today.

Box: Reading a Ritual Codex.

2. The Rise of Aztec Civilization.

Timetables.

Pre-Aztec Civilizations.

The Aztlan Migrations.

The Growth of City-States: The Early Aztec Period.

Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period.

BOX: Reading a Historical Codex.

3. People on the Landscape.

How Many Aztecs?

The Aztec Diet.

Farming Systems.

Rural Settlement.

The Rural Landscape.

4. Artisans and their Wares.

Utilitarian Crafts.

Luxury Crafts.

Otumba: an Aztec Craft Center.

5. The Commercial Economy.

Marketplaces.

Merchants.

Money.

Material Evidence for Aztec Commerce.

6. Family and Social Class.

Growing Up Aztec.

Adult Life and Social Roles.

Social Classes.

Commoners.

Nobles and Their Palaces.

7. City-State and Empire.

City-States.

Relations among City-States.

The Empire of the Triple Alliance.

Imperial Strategies and Control.

Mexica Propaganda and the Limits of Empire.

8. Cities and Urban Planning.

City-State Capitals.

Provincial Cities and Towns.

Tenochtitlan.

9. Creation, Death and the Gods.

Myths of Creation.

Aztec Religion: Historical Background.

The Gods.

Death, Burial, and the Afterlife.

10. Temples and Ceremonies.

Priests.

Human Blood Offerings.

The Templo Mayor.

Public Ceremonies.

Private Rituals.

11. Science and Art.

Writing.

Calendars and Astronomy.

Technology.

Medicine.

Art.

Literature and Poetry.

Music and Dance.

12. Final Glory, Conquest and Legacy.

The Final Century, 1428-1519.

Conquest by Spain.

The Nahuas under Spanish Rule.

Continuity and Change.

The Aztec Legacy: Modern Nahua Indian Culture.

The Aztec Past and the Mexican Present.

A Wider Perspective.

Notes.

Glossary of Nahuatl Terms.

References.

Index.

  • English

English

"Michael Smith is widely recognized as one of the few scholars whose work on Aztec society has creatively combined both archaeological and ethnohistoric methods. This research experience bears fruit in his revised edition of The Aztecs, an authoritative scholarly work that incorporates the results of the most recent research, but which, at the same time, is written in a style that makes it an ideal textbook for college courses."
–Richard E. Blanton, Professor of Anthropology, Purdue University

"Smith uses evidence from Aztec archaeology, ranging from the Templo Mayor to rural farmsteads, to complement the traditional picture based on chronicles and art history. The strength of this book is his synthesis of the social archaeology of everyday Aztec life established by recent excavations."
–Norman Hammond, Professor of Archaeology, Boston University

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