Contents
Cover
The Peoples of America
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Guide to Pronunciation and Spelling
Chapter 1: The Aztecs of Mesoamerica
Who Were the Aztecs?
Mesoamerican Context
The Aztec Environment
Sources of Information
Ethnohistory
Archaeology
Art History
Aztec Studies Today
Chapter 2: The Rise of Aztec Civilization
Timetables
Pre-Aztec Civilizations
The Aztlan Migrations
Toltecs, Chichimecs, and Aztec Identity
The Growth of City-States: The Early Aztec Period
Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period
Chapter 3: People on the Landscape
How Many Aztecs?
The Aztec Diet
Farming Systems
Rural Settlement
The Rural Landscape
Chapter 4: Artisans and their Wares
Utilitarian Crafts
Luxury Crafts
Otumba: An Aztec Craft Center
Chapter 5: The Commercial Economy
Marketplaces
Money
Material Evidence for Aztec Commerce
A Complex Economy
Chapter 6: Family and Social Class
Growing up Aztec
Adult Life and Social Roles
Social Classes
Commoners
Nobles and their Palaces
Chapter 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
Chapter 8: Cities and Urban Planning
City-State Capitals
Provincial Cities and Towns
Tenochtitlan
Chapter 9: Creation, Death, and the Gods
Myths of Creation
Aztec Religion: Historical Background
The Gods
Death, Burial, and the Afterlife
Chapter 10: Temples and Ceremonies
Priests
Human Blood Offerings
The Templo Mayor
Public Ceremonies
Private Rituals
Chapter 11: Science, Writing, and Calendars
Writing
Calendars and Astronomy
Technology
Medicine
Chapter 12: Art, Music, and Literature
Art
Music and Dance
Chapter 13: 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
The Peoples of America
General Editors: Alan Kolata and Dean Snow
This series is about the native peoples and civilizations of the Americas, from their origins in ancient times to the present day. Drawing on archaeological, historical, and anthropological evidence, each volume presents a fresh and absorbing account of a group's culture, society, and history.
Accessible and scholarly, and well illustrated with maps and photographs, the volumes of The Peoples of America will together provide acomprehensive and vivid picture of the character and variety of the societies of the American past.
Already published:
The Tiwanaku: A Portrait of an Andean Civilization
Alan Kolata
The Timucua
Jerald T. Milanich
The Aztecs
Third Edition
Michael E. Smith
The Cheyenne
John Moore
The Iroquois
Dean Snow
The Moche
Garth Bowden
The Nasca
Helaine Silverman and Donald A. Proulx
The Incas
Terence N. D'Altroy
The Sioux
Guy Gibbon
Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Chatinos: Ancient Peoples of Southern Mexico
Arthur A. Joyce
This edition first published 2012
© 2012 Michael E. Smith
Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell's publishing program has been merged with Wiley's global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Michael Ernest, 1953–
The Aztecs / Michael E. Smith. — 3rd ed.
p. cm. — (The peoples of America)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-9497-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Aztecs–History. 2. Aztecs–Antiquities. 3. Aztecs–Social life and customs. 4. Mexico–Antiquities. I. Title.
F1219.73.S58 2011
972—dc23
2011029132
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
In memory of William T. Sanders
and Thomas H. Charlton: mentors,
colleagues, friends
Figures
1.1 Artist's reconstruction of the Templo Mayor
1.2 Map of Mesoamerica
1.3 A Mesoamerican tropical forest
1.4 The island capital Tenochtitlan in Aztec times
1.5 Map of Aztec sites in central Mexico
1.6 Typical central Mexican co
untryside
1.8 A rural Aztec site
1.9 A small temple platform at the site TA-8 in the Teotihuacan Valley
1.10 Archaeologists collecting surface artifacts
1.11 Excavation of an elite residence at Yautepec
1.12 “Mexican antiquities which exist in the National Museum of Mexico, 1857”
2.1 Archaeological and native historical chronologies
2.2 Air photo of the ruins of Classic-period Teotihuacan
2.3 Air photo of the ruins of the central ceremonial district of Tula
2.4 Aztec ethnic groups leaving their homeland of Aztlan
2.5 Scene in the Mapa Quinatzin showing Chichimecs and toltecs
2.6 An Early Aztec twin-stair pyramid at Teopanzolco
2.7 A large Early Aztec pyramid at Tenayuca
2.8 Construction stages of the Early Aztec pyramid at Tenayuca
2.9 Genealogy of the Mexica kings
2.10 Cycles of expansion of the Triple Alliance Empire
2.11 Page from the Tira de Tepechpan
2.12 Stone monolith with image of the deity Tlaltecuhtli
2.13 Excavation and cleaning of the Tlaltecuhtli monument
3.1 Schematic map of population growth in the Valley of Mexico
3.2 Mother teaching her 13-year-old daughter to make tortillas
3.3 Traditional maize granary (cuexcomatl)
3.4 Aztec agricultural terraces at Cerro Texcotzinco
3.5 Aztec embankment built to contain the new channel of the Cuauhtitlan River
3.6 Modern chinampa fields in Xochimilco, ca. 1905
3.7 Maps of Cuexcomate and Capilco
4.1 Obsidian blade-core and four prismatic blades
4.2 Ceramic vessels from Aztec kitchens
4.3 Small ceramic objects from Cuexcomate and Capilco
4.4 Girls being taught by their mothers to spin and weave cotton
4.5 Ceramic cotton-spinning tools from Capilco
4.6 A maguey plant at the Aztec city of Otumba
4.7 Bronze tools from Aztec houses in Yautepec
4.8 Ceremonial featherwork shield
4.9 Master craftsmen instructing their sons in their crafts
4.10 Gold necklace and pendants made by lost-wax casting
4.11 Obsidian ear spools
4.12 Mosaic mask of stone with turquoise, shell, and coral inlay
4.13 Map of Otumba showing areas of craft production
4.14 Technological sequence for the manufacture of obsidian jewelry
5.1 Modern Maya woman selling vegetables in the marketplace
5.2 An Aztec market
5.3 Pochteca merchants
5.4 Cacao pods
5.5 Cacao beans in a gourd
5.6 Sherds from imported Aztec III Black-on-Orange ceramic plates
5.7 Cholula Polychrome ceramic tripod plate
5.8 Imported Valley of Mexico ceramic sherds
6.1 Aztec childbirth customs
6.2 Aztec wedding ceremony
6.3 Wall foundations and floor of a peasant house at Capilco
6.4 Modern adobe peasant house in Tetlama
6.5 Excavation of an urban commoner house at Calixtlahuaca
6.6 Recently excavated commoner house at Xaltocan
6.7 Burial of a commoner woman at Xaltocan
6.8 Artist's reconstruction of the Cuexcomate palace
6.9 Genealogy of the inhabitants of the palace of Molotecatl tecuhtli
6.10 Royal palace of Calixtlahuaca
6.11 Polished red goblet used to drink cacao
7.1 Tax roll from the province of Tlapa
7.2 Map of city-state territories in southeastern Valley of Mexico
7.3 Soldiers carrying maquahuitl swords into battle
7.4 Map of the provinces of the Aztec Empire
7.5 The tax of the imperial province of Coayxtlahuacan
7.6 Entrance to the EagleWarrior Temple
7.7 Mexica-style temple at the fortress of Quauhtochco, 1805
7.8 The City of Zempoala
8.1 Main plaza at Coatetelco, Morelos
8.2 Temple group at Calixtlahuaca in the Toluca Valley
8.3 Excavation of an urban commoner house in Yautepec
8.4 Map of Aztec Yautepec
8.5 Reconstruction of the city of Tenochtitlan
8.6 Map of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco
8.7 Map of the ceremonial zone at Tlatelolco
9.1 Large stone disk showing Coyolxauhqui's dismembered body
9.2 Classic-period antecedents of Aztec gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl
9.3 Five Aztec gods
9.4 Obsidian mirrors associated with Tezcatlipoca
9.5 The god XipeTotec
9.6 Serving bowl decorated with skull and crossbones
9.7 Remains of a commoner child
9.8 Remains of commoner adults
9.9 Burial of a king
9.10 Two ceremonial secondary burials with offerings
9.11 Notched bone rasp, carved from a human femur
10.1 Long-handled censer decorated with small circular reliefs
10.2 Rituals of autosacrifice
10.3 A heart sacrifice on a temple-pyramid
10.4 Objects used in heart sacrifices
10.5 Early Spanish drawing of the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan
10.6 The Templo Mayor today
10.7 A ceremony at the Templo Mayor
10.8 Offering 61 excavated in front of the Templo Mayor
10.9 Partially restored small temple-pyramid at Coatetelco
10.10 Small circular shrine from Tenochtitlan
10.11 Circular pyramid at Calixtlahuaca
10.12 Ritual dump from the New Fire ceremony
10.13 An Aztec ballcourt with a game in progress
10.14 Aztec ballcourt at Coatetelco
10.15 Ceramic figurines used in domestic rituals
10.16 Astrological table showing predictions
11.1 Modern reproduction of an Aztec folded book
11.2 Stone bark-beaters from Yautepec
11.3 Place-name glyphs from the Codex Mendoza
11.4 Model showing operation of 260-day ritual calendar
11.5 Year-count calendar with dates in Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin's reign
11.6 A priest tracks the stars at night
11.7 Curers prepare the sweat-bath for two patients
12.1 Sculpture of a man holding a cacao pod
12.2 Sculpture of a snake
12.3 Sculpture of a jaguar
12.4 Temple of Sacred Warfare sculpture
12.5 The Aztec calendar stone
12.6 The Aztec calendar stone (drawing)
12.7 Stone relief in the Tenochtitlan imperial style
12.8 Ceramic “flower-flutes”
12.9 Ritual dance accompanied by drums and flutes
13.1 Religious center of the Tarascan capital Tzintzuntzan
13.2 Palace and temples at the highland Maya city of Iximché
13.3 Structure at the coastal Maya city of Tulum
13.4 Aztec warriors attack the Spaniards
13.5 Battle between the Mexica and Spaniards
13.6 Sixteenth-century Christian church and convent at Xochimilco
13.7 Church built on top of the abandoned Cholula pyramid
13.8 Carving in the Augustinian convent at Acolman, ca. 1550
13.9 Aztec sacred stone box
13.10 A farmer in the village of Tetlama
13.11 A modern Nahua woman weaves cloth
13.12 Plaza of the Three Cultures in Tlatelolco
13.13 The national symbol of Mexico
Tables
3.1 Documentary estimates of the Aztec population in 1519
3.2 Aztec archaeological sites and population levels in the Valley of Mexico
3.3 Population and site areas of Cuexcomate and Capilco
4.1 Types of craft specialists in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica
5.1 Key trade commodities in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica
7.1 Provinces of the Triple Alliance Empire
7.2 Imperial taxes as recorded in the Codex Mendoza
9.1 The principal Aztec deities
9.2 Gods of the Tezcatlipoca complex
11.1 The 20 day names
11.2 The year-count calendar and its correlation with the European calendar
Preface
Is there perchance any truth to our words here?
All seems so like a dream, only do we rise from sleep, only on earth do our words remain.
Cantares Mexicanos
Words were important to the Aztecs, and we are fortunate today that many of their own words were preserved after the Spanish Conquest. Also preserved were examples of the Aztecs' picture-writing as well as descriptions by Spanish conquerors and observers. These written sources have been available for four centuries, and many works on the Aztecs make use of them. But they are not the only window into the Aztec past; words are not all that remain on earth.
Paradoxically, the oldest information on the Aztecs is also the most recent to be discovered. I refer to the ruins of houses, temples, and towns that make up the archaeological record of Aztec civilization. Aztec archaeology is a relatively new field of study. Many exciting new discoveries over the past two decades have revolutionized our understanding of Aztec civilization, but until now most of this information has appeared only in technical reports and professional journals. A major goal of this book is to make these discoveries known to a wider audience. As a participant in this work, I try to communicate something of the excitement and significance of our research. In preparing the third edition, I have updated the text and notes in all chapters and reorganized and expanded my discussion of many topics.
In the pages that follow I draw heavily upon the results of fieldwork that I have directed at Aztec sites in the Mexican states of Morelos and Mexico. I would like to acknowledge the following institutions and agencies for providing funding for that fieldwork: the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the National Geographic Society, the Heinz Charitable Trust, Loyola University of Chicago, the University at Albany (State University of New York), the Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, and Arizona State University. My research in Mexico has been greatly facilitated by Mexican officials and colleagues, particularly José Antonio lvarez Lobato, Hortensia de Vega Nova, Joaquim García-Bárcenas, Teresa García García, Roberto García Moll, Agustín Gasca Pliego, Lorena Mirambell, Mari Carmen Serra Puche, and Norberto González C. I thank the following students who participated in the fieldwork for their contributions to its overall success: Patricia Aguirre, Martín Antonio, Robert Austin, Courtney Brown, Timothy Brown, Elizabeth DiPippo, Ruth Fauman-Fichman, Caitlin Guthrie, Timothy Hare, Kathleen Haynie, Casandra Hernández, Miriam Heun, Kathryn Hirst, Angela Huster, Marieke Joel, Amy Karabowicz, Kori Kaufman, Ronald Kohler, Annette McLeod, Samantha Miller, Raúl Miranda Gómez, Lisa Montiel, Susan Norris, Juliana Novic, Joan Odess, Rikke Marie Olsen, Jan Marie Olson, Scott O'Mack, Jennifer Pinson, T. Jeffrey Price, Colleen Rhodes, Mellissa Ruiz, Jeffrey Sahagun, Maëlle Sergheraert, David Shafer, Margaret Shiels, Andrew Somerville, Jerrell Sorensen, Sharon Spanogle, Charles Stapleton, María Stapleton, Osvaldo Sterpone, Timothy Sullivan, Cheryl Sutherland, Deborah Szymborski, and Brian Tomaslewski. I also must thank my excellent field crews from the towns of TetlamaYautepec, and San Francisco Calixtlahuaca. My later father, Dudley B. Smith, deserves acknowledgment for providing pickup trucks for our fieldwork in Morelos.