Minahan, James B. (2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems. ABC-CLIO. p.718. ISBN 9780313344978. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023 . Retrieved 22 September 2020. Barlow, Robert H. (1945). "Some Remarks On The Term "Aztec Empire" ". The Americas. 1 (3): 345–349. doi: 10.2307/978159. JSTOR 978159. S2CID 147083453. Main articles: Human sacrifice in Aztec culture and Cannibalism in pre-Columbian America Ritual human sacrifice as shown in the Codex Magliabechiano Chipman, Donald E. (2005). Moctezuma's Children: Aztec Royalty Under Spanish Rule, 1520-1700. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72597-3. Quello che forse colpisce di più della fine dell’impero azteco è che pur essendo un popolo famoso per essere bellicoso, non oppose una resistenza significativa. Questo accadde per vari motivi, da una parte gli Spagnoli sfruttarono le popolazioni sottomesse agli Aztechi, assicurandosi così importanti alleati militari.

Definitions [ edit ] Aztec metal axe blades. Prior of the arrival of the European settlers, see: Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Large ceramic statue of an Aztec eagle warrior Some codices were produces post-conquest, sometimes commissioned by the colonial government, for example Codex Mendoza, were painted by Aztec tlacuilos (codex creators), but under the control of Spanish authorities, who also sometimes commissioned codices describing precolonial religious practices, for example Codex Ríos. After the conquest, codices with calendric or religious information were sought out and systematically destroyed by the church– whereas other types of painted books, particularly historical narratives and tax lists continued to be produced. [26] Although depicting Aztec deities and describing religious practices also shared by the Aztecs of the Valley of Mexico, the codices produced in Southern Puebla near Cholula, are sometimes not considered to be Aztec codices, because they were produced outside of the Aztec "heartland". [26] Karl Anton Nowotny, nevertheless considered that the Codex Borgia, painted in the area around Cholula and using a Mixtec style, was the "most significant work of art among the extant manuscripts". [127] Cline, Howard F. (1973). "Selected Nineteenth-Century Mexican Writers on Ethnohistory". In H.F. Cline (ed.). Handbook of Middle American Indians, Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, Part 2. pp.370–393. ISBN 978-0-292-70153-3. Un altro aspetto che giocò un ruolo fondamentale fu il fatalismo dell’élite. Un’ antica leggenda riguardava Quetzalcoatl, il “serpente piumato” dio civilizzatore che aveva rifiutato i sacrifici umani e per questo era stato cacciato via dagli altri dei.The Aztecs [a] ( / ˈ æ z t ɛ k s/ AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states ( altepetl), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires. The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Tenochtitlan, city-state of the Mexica or Tenochca, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, previously part of the Tepanec empire, whose dominant power was Azcapotzalco. Although the term Aztecs is often narrowly restricted to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, it is also broadly used to refer to Nahua polities or peoples of central Mexico in the prehispanic era, [1] as well as the Spanish colonial era (1521–1821). [2] The definitions of Aztec and Aztecs have long been the topic of scholarly discussion ever since German scientist Alexander von Humboldt established its common usage in the early 19th century. [3]

Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. (1998). "The multiple identities of Aztec craft specialists". Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association. 8 (1): 145–152. doi: 10.1525/ap3a.1998.8.1.145. Main article: Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas Depiction of smallpox during the Spanish conquest in Book XII of the Florentine Codex Il nome Aztechi però era usato dagli Europei, nella loro lingua, il nahuatl, essi si chiamavano Mexica o Tenochca. Furono chiamati “ Aztechi” dagli Spagnoli per il mitico paese di provenienza “ Aztlán”, che significa “terra del sole”. Il luogo di origine degli Aztechi non è ancora certo: secondo la mitologia azteca essi provenivano da una zona del Messico settentrionale. Carrasco, David. "Religione del Messico centrale". Archeologia dell'antico Messico e dell'America centrale: un'enciclopedia. ed. Evans, Susan Toby e David L. Webster. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2001. 102–08. Stampa. Berdan, Frances (1982). The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society. Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN 978-0-03-055736-1. OCLC 7795704.Franco, Jean (2004). "The return of Coatlicue: Mexican nationalism and the Aztec past". Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. 13 (2): 205–219. doi: 10.1080/1356932042000246977. S2CID 162346920.

Main article: Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The meeting of Moctezuma II and Hernán Cortés, with his cultural translator La Malinche, 8 November 1519, as depicted in the Lienzo de Tlaxcala Burkhart, Louise M. (1997). "Mexican women on the home front". In S Schroeder; S Wood; RS Haskett (eds.). Indian women of early Mexico. pp.25–54. Cortés arrivò in America nel 1519 e nel giro di pochi anni conquistò Tenochtitlán e catturò Montezuma II. Nel 1521 l’impero azteco era di fatto finito. Considerando che, per quanto con armi da fuoco e con cavalli, gli Europei erano pur sempre poco più di cinquecento, in un territorio a loro sconosciuto, un’impresa del genere non sarebbe stata possibile senza l’ appoggio militare e logistico delle popolazioni che conoscevano bene il territorio e il nemico, e che soprattutto erano volenterose di disfarsi del giogo azteco. Cortés sfruttò abilmente entrambi. Il fatalismo dell’éliteHaskett, R.S. (1991). Indigenous rulers: An ethnohistory of town government in colonial Cuernavaca. University of New Mexico Press.

de Durand-Forest, Jacqueline e Michel Graulich. " Sul paradiso perduto nel Messico centrale ". Antropologia attuale 25.1 (1984): 134–35. Stampa. Gillespie 1989 argues that the name "Motecuzoma" was a later addition added to make for a parallel to the later ruler, and that his original name was only "Ilhuicamina". Maffie n.d., sec. 2f, citing Caso 1958; Leon-Portilla 1963, ch. II; H. B. Nicholson 1971, pp. 410–2; and I. Nicholson 1959, pp. 60–3. As all Mesoamerican peoples, Aztec society was organized around maize agriculture. The humid environment in the Valley of Mexico with its many lakes and swamps permitted intensive agriculture. The main crops in addition to maize were beans, squashes, chilies and amaranth. Particularly important for agricultural production in the valley was the construction of chinampas on the lake, artificial islands that allowed the conversion of the shallow waters into highly fertile gardens that could be cultivated year round. Chinampas are human-made extensions of agricultural land, created from alternating layers of mud from the bottom of the lake, and plant matter and other vegetation. These raised beds were separated by narrow canals, which allowed farmers to move between them by canoe. Chinampas were extremely fertile pieces of land, and yielded, on average, seven crops annually. On the basis of current chinampa yields, it has been estimated that one hectare (2.5 acres) of chinampa would feed 20 individuals and 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres) of chinampas could feed 180,000. [68] Further information: Society in the Spanish Colonial Americas Codex Kingsborough, showing the abuse by Spaniards of a Nahua under the encomienda Spanish labor systemIn 1469, the next ruler was Axayacatl ( lit. "Water mask"), son of Itzcoatl's son Tezozomoc and Motecuzoma I's daughter Atotoztli. [nb 6] He undertook a successful coronation campaign far south of Tenochtitlan against the Zapotecs in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Axayacatl also conquered the independent Mexica city of Tlatelolco, located on the northern part of the island where Tenochtitlan was also located. The Tlatelolco ruler Moquihuix was married to Axayacatl's sister, and his alleged mistreatment of her was used as an excuse to incorporate Tlatelolco and its important market directly under the control of the tlatoani of Tenochtitlan. [47] Berdan, Frances F.; Smith, Michael E. (1996a). "1. Introduction". In Frances Berdan; Richard Blanton; Elizabeth Hill Boone; Mary G. Hodge; Michael E. Smith; Emily Umberger (eds.). Aztec Imperial Strategies. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. ISBN 978-0-88402-211-4. OCLC 27035231. The idea of the Aztecs has captivated the imaginations of Europeans since the first encounters, and has provided many iconic symbols to Western popular culture. [178] In his book The Aztec Image in Western Thought, Benjamin Keen argued that Western thinkers have usually viewed Aztec culture through a filter of their own cultural interests. [179] Ispirandosi a precedenti tradizioni artistiche utilizzando rame, oro, argento, conchiglie, argilla, legno, ossidiana e piume. Gli aztechi raggiunsero un alto livello nella combinazione di oro ed argento con pietre preziose come giada, ametista, opale, e iurchese per creare vistosi gioielli come pettorali, bracciali, collane, orecchini e decorazioni labiali bezotes. There are few extant Aztec painted books. Of these, none are conclusively confirmed to have been created before the conquest, but several codices must have been painted either right before the conquest or very soon after– before traditions for producing them were much disturbed. Even if some codices may have been produced after the conquest, there is good reason to think that they may have been copied from pre-Columbian originals by scribes. The Codex Borbonicus is considered by some to be the only extant Aztec codex produced before the conquest– it is a calendric codex describing the day and month counts indicating the patron deities of the different time periods. [26] Others consider it to have stylistic traits suggesting a post-conquest production. [126]