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Today's Mayan date is: 12.19.17.11.19 - two years and 110 days to go to the end of the cycle!
Links of interest to Teachers and older Students
on the Aztecs/Mexica and pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica in general. Last checked, expanded and updated June 2010. Latest additions at BOTTOM of page.
‘Aztecs’ at the Guggenheim
As you may know, the hugely successful exhibition ‘Aztecs’ moved from London to Berlin to New York to Bilbao, and ever onwards... The Guggenheim (New York) offers plenty of background resource material on the Aztecs, reflecting the broad scope of the exhibition itself.
http://artscurriculum.guggenheim.org/lessons/aztec_intro.php
Citlalcóatl (Star Snake)
This is a gem. The story of the Aztecs told in the first person, through the eyes of an Aztec warrior who has passed through the Calmecac or elite training academy and reflects on his upbringing - and his people’s history - before being sacrificed at a major festival. Thoroughly researched, thoughtful (read Kim Martin Metzger’s introduction carefully - the story was dedicated to UNESCO’s “Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence”), perceptive (the way the story-teller describes the fine balance between the demands of war and farming is spot on) and with plenty of highly usable detail for anyone learning/teaching about Aztec life, this is a wonderful resource; on the huge MexicoConnect portal site. Alternatively, go direct to the site of the author Martin Auer.
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/kmetzger/kmstarsnake.html
http://www.martinauer.net/KINDER/krieg-us/sternen-us.htm
‘Demon of the Air’ - an Aztec Mystery by Simon Levack
Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger Award, this gripping murder mystery, set in 1517 and recounted by Yaotl, the Chief Minister’s slave, has been meticulously researched, from the historical context of Tenochtitlan on the eve of the Conquest down to the tiniest details of daily life, all within the framework of a fast-moving crime novel. Even the dry humour is grounded in local culture (I loved the quip about the Huaxtecs at the start of chapter 13 Snake!)
http://www.simonlevack.com/
The Crystal Skull - an Aztec game
A free online game - no plug-ins required - containing (once you’ve worked out how to find it!) a mass of authoritative information on Aztec society. The game is a real challenge, and skilfully put together. There are other ‘edutainments’ on the main mesoweb.com site (scroll a long way down!)
http://www.mesoweb.com/crystal/index.html
Royal Academy
Supporting the major Aztecs exhibition at the RA, their website (still accessible as of early 2008!) has a page of useful links to more academic, but still attractively presented, sites including the Templo Mayor
http://www.aztecs.org.uk
‘Daily Life ot the Aztecs’
One of the all-time classic books on the Aztecs - Jacques Soustelle’s ‘Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest’ (first published in French in 1955) -is now available to read from cover to cover on line. The writing is very accessible, and chapters like ‘A Mexican’s Day’ remain reliable and rich sources of information
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1285237
The meaning of life and death in Ancient Mexico
For a beautifully illustrated explanation, written by Joel Skidmore, of the importance to all ancient Mexicans of the cycle of life and death, the existence of a spirit world under the skin (and under the earth’s ‘skin’), the power of regeneration, and a simple re-telling of the myth of Quetzalcóatl’s journey to Mictlan to bring life to humankind, go to (part of the Mesoweb site):
http://www.mesoweb.com/features/life_death/life00.html
The legend of vanilla
For the original - romantic but also gruesome - Totonac legend of the origin of the vanilla plant (native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean), and a link to a wealth of information on the culinary delights of genuine vanilla, you must go to
http://www.vanilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94:legend-of-vanilla&catid=77:vanilla&Itemid=11
Pulque
For an informative illustrated article (includes a slideshow) on the production of pulque (nutritional fermented century plant cactus sap drink, revered by the Aztecs) - but which also paints a worrying picture of the near extinction of pulque production today in Mexico in favour of cheap beers and spirits - go to
http://www.newfarm.org/international/pan-am_don/sept04/pulque.shtml
AncientScripts.com
Lawrence Lo’s superbly researched and produced specialist website on ancient writing systems around the world, which includes a finely illustrated page on Aztec writing, numbering and calendar systems, together with some excellent links
http://www.ancientscripts.com/aztec.html
Aztec calendar (Xiuhpohualli)
This long-established site gives you an instant equivalent to today’s date (and a converter for any date you care to type in) in the Aztec day-to-day/farming/civic calendar - and a lot of background information besides. They now use Mexicolore’s beautiful day sign glyphs (with permission!).
For a detailed equivalent in Spanish hosted by the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, follow the second link.
http://www.azteccalendar.com
http://www.uaq.mx/ingenieria/publicaciones/calendarios/
Two codex facsimiles on screen
Facsimile editions of the Codex Magliabecchiano and the Codex Laud have been digitized at the University of Utah in the USA and can be viewed, page by page, on screen. The Laud is the more accessible of the two (if you’re not familiar with the Magliabecchiano you may well get bogged down looking for key pages - which roughly are in the second half of the manuscript); expect to be disappointed by the Laud Commentary: it’s all about the physical condition and make-up of the Codex with essentially nothing on the content and meaning). The image pages however speak beautifully for themselves
http://www.lib.utah.edu/portal/site/marriottlibrary/menuitem.350f2794f84fb3b29cf87354d1e916b9/?vgnextoid=2702c1892183b110VgnVCM1000001c9e619bRCRD
Mesoweb
For a wealth of resource material particularly on the Maya - this is a site for serious research.
http://www.mesoweb.com
The Chinampas of Xochimilco
Based on careful academic research Dr. Phil Crossley’s web site presents information about a broad range of topics related to Mexico’s chinampas and their use both in the past and the present.
http://www.western.edu/faculty/pcrossley/chinampasofmexico/index.htm
Carousel Publications
A world instruments website based in the US, selling an exceptional range of folk instruments sourced from around the world, as well as books, music charts and other teaching materials
http://www.carousel-music.com/index.html
http://www.carousel-music.com/ocarinas.html
Ocarina Workshop
An excellent source not only of easy-to-play instruments - including a ‘Paint and Play your own “Aztec” Ocarina’ kit - but also of teaching materials, posters, music books and CDs, ocarina workshops (they’re based in Kettering), and a booklet lavishly illustrated from their own private collection on the history of ocarinas, with many examples from ancient Mexico and Central America
http://www.ocarina.co.uk/
An Aztec musical
Recommended to us recently was ‘The Aztec Story’, a musical for primary schools telling the story of the Aztecs from their early migration to the coming of the Spanish, written by Ian Rizzotto and Hilary Sheldon in 1992. The play lasts approximately 60 minutes, it’s full of catchy tunes, and schools can either perform the music live or use the CD soundtrack as a backing tape. The content is light, but it makes a great appetite-whetter for the Aztecs, it’s lively, entertaining, upbeat, there are lots of practical tips in the Technical Notes, and - as far as we know - damn it, it’s unique!
http://www.key2music.co.uk/
Aztec Bibliography for Students by Professor Michael E. Smith
Michael Smith is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University at Albany (State University of New York), is currently undertaking archaeological field research in the Toluca region of central Mexico, and specializes in the Aztecs. His booklist is up-to-date, attractively presented, and contains most of the ‘classics’; aimed at university students, this list is only for those with a serious interest in the Aztecs!
http://www.public.asu.edu/~mesmith9/azbib.html
‘Summoning Spirit’
A curious site, it contains a surprisingly useful and accessible glossary of Aztec gods’ names and associations. It’s strange that the site marks out Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc and Quetzalcóatl as the ‘Three Main Gods’ without giving prominence to the all-important fourth (Tezcatlipoca); still, as a listing of nearly 100 gods, with several lines of info on the ‘higher ranking’ ones, it’s commendable
http://www.homestead.com/summoningspirit/AZTEC.html
‘Ancient Roots of Mexican Cuisine’
Simple text page setting out - effectively - how much of today’s Mexican cuisine has its roots in pre-Columbian cultures
http://www.chapala.com/chapala/ojo/bestarticles/ancient.html
Where is Mesoamerica?!
Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Timeline of Art History, a clear authoritative explanation of what and where exactly ‘Mesoamerica’ is. OK, so you knew already... Alternatively, try the beautiful presentation offered by the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/cam/ht04cam.htm
http://www.famsi.org/
‘Gold in the Indies’
One of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Timeline of Art History pages, you’ll find the story of Europeans’ search for gold in the New World, Albrecht Dürer’s famous description of the gifts Moctezuma II gave to Cortés and that Cortés sent back to Spain - and an image of a beautiful set of Aztec gold frog ornaments...
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ingd/hd_ingd.htm
Werner Forman Archive
For one of the greatest collections of photo’s of not only Aztec but pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican artefacts and archaeological sites in general. Contains many of the ‘classic’ images of the best known Aztec objects in the British Museum, for starters (it’s the source of our ‘Artefact of the Week’ box on our Aztecs homepage)
http://www.werner-forman-archive.com/
Steve Turre
One of the world’s preeminent jazz innovators, San Francisco-based trombonist and seashellist Steve Turre has consistently won both the Readers’ and Critics’ polls in JazzTimes, Downbeat, and Jazziz for Best Trombone and for Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist (shells). Turre was born to Mexican-American parents and has pioneered the recording of conch shells. His music can be sampled on his website - look for ‘Sanctified Shells’
http://www.steveturre.com/
A conch player in Sweden!
Tommy Adolfsson contacted us from Sweden to let us know of his skill as a conch blower - first inspired by hearing conches played in Indian temples in 1984. His music is highly atmospheric and poetic
http://www.myspace.com/tommyadolfsson
Aztec Poetry
There are many sources of Aztec/Náhuatl poems available on the internet; because poetry was a highly developed art form in Aztec culture, rich in language, imagery and symbolism, we want to point you to sites that both present some short, ‘quotable’ examples AND offer plenty of background information if you want it. Maybe start with the tiny poem by Netzahualcóyotl on every Mexican $100 peso note (look for ‘Netzahualcóyotl’s hidden poem’ on our Aztecs homepage).
We think the page below, part of the extraordinary, rather New Age, carnaval.com website, is one of the best. Tecpaocelotl has another fine selection on his website (below). Then read Chris Guinn’s poignant story of her grandmother’s hidden Aztec poem...
http://www.carnaval.com/dead/aztec_poetry.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/tecpaocelotl/poetry.htm
http://www.chrisguinn.com/huexotzingo.html
‘Neo-PreColumbian’ Art
We’re impressed by Stevon Lucero’s neo-Aztec art: it’s New Age, and he calls himself a ‘philosopher artist’, and it’s pretty zany - but the images are based firmly on pre-Hispanic imagery and iconography, and his claim to ‘re-vision and recreate images of Pre-Columbian Mexico into new vibrant paintings of power and depth... giving them new meaning without violating the spirit of their original creators’ strikes true.
http://www.stevonlucero.com/PrintsNeo.htm
aztlanvirtual.com
In Spanish For readers of Spanish, here is a site that offers many of the same informative services as Mexicolore - regularly updated news, articles, book reviews, museum links, Q&A section, photos, and a beautifully produced multimedia timeline of Mesoamerica
http://www.aztlanvirtual.com/aztlan/
FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies)
An excellent site for serious students of Mesoamerican studies at an academic level, with research papers and news, funding and grants, specialist resources and more. Home to the well-established online discussion list on pre-Columbian cultures, Aztlán, US-based FAMSI also offers profiles of all the ADEVA facsimile codices, and much more.
http://www.famsi.org/
Wikipedia
The ‘Aztec’ entry in Wikipedia is usually excellent, lengthy and well worth checking regularly. It explains basic terms, and then outlines Aztec history, government, mythology, society, architecture, legacy; plus: maps, graphics, notes on primary sources, further reading, and links. One of the links is to a free downloadable resource from Scientific American magazine - Michael Smith’s “Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire”, beautifully illustrated like a school text book!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec
Aztec Astrologer
There’s a limit to how seriously to take ‘Aztec Astrology’ - the immediate and serious difficulty is correlating calendars; but if you just want to ‘play Aztec horoscopes’, Dr. Michael Bulmer (Maths Dept., Uni of Queensland, Australia) has put careful work into this easy-to-use site, and it gives you a good feel for the different influences involved.
http://www.maths.uq.edu.au/~mrb/Aztec/index.php
Chocolate Exhibition
‘All About Chocolate’ is an extensive web resource supporting a major exhibition on the history and production of chocolate first mounted at the Field Museum, Chicago. The exhibition still travels round the USA (currently booked till 2010). The website has downloadable teaching resources, an interactive kids’ site on making chocolate, a knowledge of chocolate ‘challenge’, book list and much more.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Chocolate/education.html
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Chocolate/about.html
Aztec Art & Architecture
Dr. Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Associate Professor of Art History at California State University in Los Angeles, has prepared an attractively illustrated and user-friendly introduction to Aztec art and architecture for the scholarly website FAMSI (see more on FAMSI above).
http://www.famsi.org/research/aguilar/index.html
John Pohl’s Mesoamerica
John Pohl, Curator of the Art Museum at Princeton University, is an eminent authority on American Indian civilizations. Part of the strongly recommended FAMSI website, his Aztecs pages are beautifully illustrated and scholarly; they contain sections on Beginnings,Tenochtitlan, Monumental Sculpture, Empire Building, Warfare and Daily Life.
http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/
‘Sorcerers of the Fifth Heaven’
A beautifully presented website to accompany an unusual exhibition at Princeton University Art Museum (USA), linking modern practices today in Mexico to the role of ‘sorcery’ in ancient Mesoamerica through the study of an incense burner in the shape of a seated deity
http://mcis2.princeton.edu/sorcerers/index.html
Terrae Antiqvae
In Spanish A superb - and superbly informed - site established in 2001 by José Luis Santos Fernández, documenting key archaeological discoveries around the world; this is the Americas page, with many extensive entries on Mexico, regularly updated.
http://terraeantiqvae.blogia.com/temas/america.php
‘The Ancient Americas’ exhibition
A ‘ground-breaking’ new 19,000-square-foot permanent exhibition opened in March 2007; the accompanying website is beautifully presented, includes a major focus on the Aztecs and Incas as Empire Builders, and offers plenty of background teaching resources, including image galleries, downloadables, and videos - follow the link below to the section on joining archaeological expeditions to Mexico online.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/ancientamericas/interactives.asp
Aztec medicine
Thanks to The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL (USA), serious students of Aztec medicine can access an excellent piece of research by Francisco Guerra, first published in the journal ‘Medical History’ in 1966. For more up-to-date work, visit our new Aztec Health section!
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1033639
ExpoCodex.fr
In French Our friend Jean-Olivier Saiz, a Spanish teacher at a lycée in Auxerre, France, has created an impressive website based on his collection of facsimile codices, which he hires out to schools (in France!) If your French is up to it, there’s a wealth of useful resource material here, from codex-making to explanations of several intriguing codex images/pages
http://www.expocodex.fr/dotclear/index.php/Kezako
Lacambalam
A slightly quirky site, it has - among the gaps - some beautifully coloured codex images - including a detailed reproduction of the Dresden Codex (Maya) - and b/w images for children to colour
http://www.angelfire.com/dc/dresdencodex/
‘Un viaje al pasado’
In Spanish For any teacher of Spanish looking to combine (intermediate level) exercises and lessons in (Latin American) Spanish with teaching about the Aztecs, there is no site quite like this, produced by the Canadian Centre Collégial de Développement de Matériel Didactique (part of the Ministry of Education of Quebec). Aimed (at a guess) at KS3 pupils
http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/ri/aztecas/
Maquahuitl
A site, based in London, dedicated to the Aztecs’ most fearsome weapon, the macuahuitl, variously described as a broadsword, saw sword or obsidian-bladed club; contains carefully researched and illustated sections on the weapon’s antecedents, blade and club design, codex images, rock guide, modern reproductions, testing, cutting efficiency, comparison with Spanish weapons, other Aztec weapons, further reading - even a forum!
http://www.maquahuitl.co.uk/
‘Ancient Mesoamerican Poets’
For a scholarly, but accessible, study of the poems of the famous Poet-Ruler of Texcoco, Netzahualcóytl, read the well researched online feature (part of the great FAMSI site - see above) on "The Flower Songs of Nezahualcoyotl" by John Curl, a respected poet and author of historical works.
http://www.famsi.org/research/curl/nezahualcoyotl_intro.html
Aztec gods from the Florentine Codex
The Foundation Research Department of FAMSI (see above) now have available, via their Mesoamerican Language Texts Digitization Project, some classic images of Aztec gods found in the Florentine Codex. There are no captions, you have to go by the name handwritten at the top of each image (if you get stuck, ask us!). The 28 facsimile plates include mythological or ritual figures or scenes.
http://www.famsi.org/research/mltdp/item195/index8.html
‘Native American Sweat Lodge’
A fascinating first-hand account by Mikkel Aaland, based on 3 years of travel and research, of the ‘temazcal’ (native Mexican sauna) - part of a comparative study of traditional ‘sweat lodges’ around the world.
http://cyberbohemia.com/Pages/originoftem.htm
The Nahua Newsletter
Supported by Indiana University (USA), this site was started in 1986 ‘to increase communication among students and scholars with an interest in the culture, language, and history of the Nahua and other Native American people of Mesoamerica’. Includes a simple but useful photo gallery of the homes and every-day lives of Nahua villagers (descendants of the Aztecs) today. Mouse over the photos to find the arrow links!
http://www.nahuanewsletter.org/gallery/gallery.html
The Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC
An all-volunteer educational organisation in the USA dedicated to increasing interest and understanding of pre-Columbian cultures. Established in 1993, the Society presents illustrated lectures monthly, publishes a newsletter, hosts an annual symposium - on the Aztecs in 2008 - and sponsors other events for amateurs and professionals to learn about pre-contact people of the Americas.
http://www.pcswdc.org./
Smithsonian: Olmec Legacy
An important site for anyone interested in the Olmecs, and in delving into the pioneering archaeological expeditions dating from World War II to now famous sites such as La Venta, San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes; contains extensive searchable artefact and image databases
http://anthropology.si.edu/olmec/english/index.htm
British Museum: mosaics
There are nine Mexican mosaics in the collection of the British Museum. Here you can read articles on 5 of them: Mosaic mask of Quetzalcoatl, Wooden ceremonial shield with mosaic inlay, Turquoise mosaic of a double-headed serpent, Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca and Knife with a mosaic handle and a chalcedony blade. (For other Aztecs links at the BM, go to our ‘Aztecs (Pupils)’ links page.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/a/mexican_turquoise_mosaics.aspx
Mexico City’s National Anthropology Museum
An introduction in English to the history, collections, services, events and more at the greatest museum Mexico has to offer, including up-to-date visitor information
http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/muna/mna_ing/main.html
Mike Ruggeri’s Aztec World
Mike Ruggeri has built up a comprehensive directory of archaeological news, upcoming events and links relating to ancient Mesoamerica in general. This is one of the best sources ‘out there’ for plugging in to the world of current research on the region.
http://web.mac.com/michaelruggeri/iWeb/THE%20TOLTEC%20AND%20AZTEC%20WORLD/MIKE%20RUGGERI’S%20AZTEC%20WORLD.html
Reconstructed portrait of Moctezuma II
An unusual ‘reconstructed portrait’, in words and codex-style picture, of Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Moctezuma II) by Marco Bakker: one of his Reportret series based on key historical figures
http://www.reportret.info/gallery/motecuhzoma1.html#painting
‘The Aztec World’
Visit the photo gallery of ‘The Aztec World’, a major new temporary exhibition on the Aztecs at The Chicago Field Museum
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/aztecs/gallery.asp
‘An Aztec Herbal’
A beautiful introduction to ‘the oldest known American herbal’, this page is provided by the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library of the University of Virginia, and contains half a dozen lovely examples from the Badianus Manuscript (original in the Vatican Library)
http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/rare_books/herbalism/badianus.cfm
Wargaming websites
We already refer to some of these in our feature on the ‘Chimalli’ (shield). Some of these, dedicated to reconstructing historical armies as miniature models, contain a wealth of well researched information, images and models...
http://www.chronofus.net/wargames/aztecs/army.htm
http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/new-world/mexico/painting_guide_aztec.htm
http://www.troop-of-shewe.co.uk/
‘The Aztec Empire’
An impressively comprehensive website, packed with well-researched visual resources, part of Assistant Professor Antonio Rafafel de la Cova’s huge online resource bank for Latino Studies in the USA.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs.htm
Aztec Mythology
Though it contains no pictures, this page, created by Lorna Dils as part of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute resource bank, is well researched and spells out three Aztec myths in the form of short stories for children.
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/3/94.03.03.x.html
Huexotzinco Codex, 1531
One of the ‘Top Treasures’ in the US Library of Congress collections, this is an attractively-presented, page-by-page ‘object focus’ website examining an 8-sheet codex that formed part of the testimony in a legal case against abuse by the colonial government in Mexico; includes an interesting look at how Aztec glyphs for numbers changed after the Conquest
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trt045.html
The Conquest of Mexico Paintings
One of a series of splendid ‘interactives’ developed around the ongoing exhibition at the Library of Congress ‘Exploring the Early Americas’, featuring selections from the more than 3,000 rare maps, documents, paintings, prints, and artifacts that make up the Jay I. Kislak Collection. Here you can explore in detail 8 paintings that tell the story of the Spanish Conquest.
http://www.myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/Interactives/Paintings/Default.html
Law in Mexico Before the Conquest
An attractive, well illustrated (from codex images) site, prepared some years ago for an exhibition at The University of Texas School of Law. Separate pages on tribute, courts, judges, family law, property, punishments, and more.
http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/rare/aztec/Home.htm
Mexique Ancien blogspot
In French A massive and superb blog/links archive full of archaeological news about Mesoamerica, proposed by French students; VERY comprehensive. Even with just basic French you can use this site as a base from which to research and explore.
http://mexiqueancien.blogspot.com/
Archaeology’s Interactive Dig
Run by Archaeology magazine in the USA, a regularly updated site where you can read the latest field reports from El Carrizal, an Olmec site in Veracruz, Mexico.
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/veracruz/
Mesoamerican Manuscripts
Princeton University Library (USA) has three collections of Mesoamerican manuscripts and artefacts, ranging from pre-Columbian maps to glyph-incised conch shells and human bones...
http://libweb5.princeton.edu/mssimages/index.html#
Illustrated Popol Vuh
A beautiful photographic essay by Justin Kerr, this page (PDF format) explores the main themes in the classic Maya creation book Popol Vuh, transcribed in the sixteenth century by an anonymous Quiché Maya writer.
http://www.mayavase.com/PopolVuh.pdf
Aztec/Mexica/Nahua literature
The excellent ‘Words Without Borders’ online magazine for international literature contains an entire issue dedicated to ‘The Indigenous Literature of the Americas’, full of gems from Classical Náhuatl to modern tales from Mexico...
http://wordswithoutborders.org/issue/october-2006/
‘Ballads of the Lords of New Spain’
This website, set up jointly by UT Press and the University of Texas Libraries following publication of John Bierhorst’s 2009 edition, offers an interactive digital adaptation of the Ballads - a sixteenth-century Nahuatl codex forming one of the two principal sources of Aztec song - ‘that expands the scholarly content beyond what is possible to publish in book-form’. It’s an excellent resource for research.
http://www.utdi.org/index.php
‘Children of the Sun’
A historical novel by Elizabeth Manson Bahr, telling the story of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico ‘from the Aztec point of view’. Described by The British Mexican Society as ‘... a gripping story, well-told and full of exciting incident, even if the denouement can come as no surprise... a very readable book.’ It’s on our list to read!
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~blc/index.html
The route of Cortés
Full of evocative illustrations (photos, videos and documents) this website, produced in 2002 by researchers from the University of Hildersheim, Germany, Xavier López Medellín and Felix Hinz, spells out simply Cortés’s route by reference today to the places he passed through in Mexico. In Spanish and German
http://www.motecuhzoma.de/Mexiko-es.htm
http://www.motecuhzoma.de/start-es.html
Aztec Place Name Glyphs Project
The Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley has made available online the classic 1885 work by Don Antonio Peñafiel titled “Nombres Geográficos de México”. By clicking on the map provided, you can see the location of towns paying tribute to the Aztecs (Culhua Mexica).
http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProjectsResources/Glyphs/Home.html
Lienzo de Quauhquechollan
The Universidad Francisco Marroquín has created an exceptional exhibit, backed by an interactive website, restoring and recreating digitally ‘Guatemala’s oldest map’ (c.1530) , now housed in the Casa de Alfeñique Museum in Puebla, Mexico. The painted cloth ‘lienzo’ tells the story of the country’s conquest from an indigenous perspective.
http://www.lienzo.ufm.edu/cms/en/home
‘The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire‘
This blockbuster exhibition on the Aztecs at the Getty Villa, Los Angeles, USA (March-July 2010) is supported by a beautifully constructed website that contains two superb resources: an Exhibition Highlights slideshow, allowing a VERY close look at 23 of the key objects on display, and an interactive feature that lets you explore in detail two deities, Coyolxauhqui and Xochipilli.
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/aztec/
Mesoamerican video blog
A splendid example of down-to-earth and up-to-date information presented very effectively via online video by Tocatzin, who teaches Mesoamerican History to High School students at a community centre in the USA.
http://www.youtube.com/mesoamericainaztlan
Research on ancient rubber use (MIT)
Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for
Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology shows that not only did pre-Columbian peoples know how to make rubber, but they could fine-tune the properties of the rubber depending on its intended use.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/mayaball-0524
Mesolore
Beautifully presented (with serious funding behind them!) Mesolore offers ‘interdisciplinary resources on ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica: images, text, video, audio that aim to enhance both teaching and research in the social sciences and humanities.’ Academic!
http://www.mesolore.net/home
