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Ask us! If you have an interesting question on any aspect of Aztec or ancient Mexican life, why not share it...?Write to Mexicolore |
Ask Us
In this section our in-house team answer your burning questions about the Aztecs/Mexica...
We get a steady flow of interesting questions to our website - not just from school pupils - many of which we feel are worth answering and sharing with others. Please note! Being a hard-pressed teaching team, we find it hard to keep up with your questions! If your query isn’t answered for a while, FORGIVE US, it hasn’t been forgotten. If we ever retire from ‘the chalk face’, we’ll have far more time for this sort of thing...!
What’s the meaning
of this ‘Mayan’ statue?
What were the similarities and differences
between Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal?
What did Aztec religion share with
wider Mesoamerican cultures?
How did the Aztecs have their hair cut
when they captured or killed an enemy?
How did commoners address the emperor?
How did they address other commoners?
Can you recommend good resources
for learning Mexica writing/script?
Can you give some other examples of Aztec
temples besides the Templo Mayor?
Is this tattoo design
an Aztec eagle?
Did the Aztecs try to convert
the peoples they conquered?
Is it blood, paint or something else on the face
of Tenoch in the Codex Mendoza?
Why don’t bears feature more strongly
in Aztec mythology/calendar?
What did the Mexica/Aztecs use
to paint stone sculptures red?
Did maize dough Mexican crucifixes develop
out of Aztec corn stalk paste deity figurines?
Did the Aztecs have
coming-of-age rituals?
Can you identify the image
in this poster?
My family comes from Temaxcalapa -
what does the word mean?
What proof is there, other than propaganda,
of Aztec human sacrifice?
Did the Mexica/Aztecs have a term
for religion, belief, worship...?
How did the Aztecs get their stones
for building structures?
Did the Aztecs use
metal spears?
Can you translate this Nahuatl saying for me?
It’s from a mural in Kingsburg, California
How did the Aztecs
use stars?
What became of the Aztec nobility
after the Spanish invasion?
What did the Mexica/Aztecs
call the Spanish invaders?
How did Aztec culture
influence their housing?
Why did Pedro de Alvarado
massacre the Aztecs?
What type of surgery
did the Aztecs practice?
What did royal Aztec
women wear?
Did all Aztec gods have male
and female aspects?
What items featured in the
festival for Xilonen?
Did divorce exist
among the Aztecs?
How might Cuauhtémoc have looked like
after he became Aztec emperor?
Is it Tlaltecuhtli on the face
of this very large gold ring?
How was the Aztec army supplied
and how did they treat war wounds?
How did the Aztecs view
dwarfs and other abnormalities...?
What is this object shown
in an Aztec trial?
Is it true Xochiquetzal was
a female Aztec warrior?
Has the funerary urn of emperor Ahuitzotl
already been found?
How did dogs act as guides
for the souls of the dead?
Did the Mexica/Aztecs have any war chants
- like the Polynesians did?
What distinguished the clothing of
Aztec priests from that of royals?
What’s going on in this image
from the Florentine Codex?
Which feast was dedicated
to Chalchiuhtlicue?
What was daily life like
for Aztec royal court musicians?
How did the Aztecs dye
their colourful costumes?
Did the Aztecs use a weapon
called a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?
What was the symbolism of the four directions
(East, West, North and South) in Mexica culture?
Were women responsible for
studying the night sky?
Please help identify this turquoise mosaic disc
at the Templo Mayor Museum
How far north and south did
Mesoamerican societies trade?
What happened to the rest of
the sacrificed person’s body?
Who exactly were the ‘Chichimec’ people
mentioned in Aztec records?
Is there a name for
the Aztec speech glyph?
Did the Aztecs paint or
decorate their canoes?
What was the symbol for turquoise
and why was it special to the Aztecs?
How do we know there was
a zoo in Tenochtitlan?
How historically accurate is
modern-day ‘Aztec’ dance and song?
Why did the Mexica show gods and animals
with the tongue hanging out?
What were the 13 different heavens
and 9 different underworlds?
What exactly was the
Aztec ‘calpulli’?
What clothes did Aztec (Mexica)
children wear?
What are the best source books
if I want to research Aztec music?
What museums hold the key
pre-Columbian codices today?
Were deerskin strap masks worn
on the face, head, or where?
Did the Mexica use informal family
nicknames like ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’?
What was the value of the gold
taken by the Spanish Conquistadores?
Can you provide the Náhuatl
translation for this poem?
Where does the word ‘pulque’
come from?
The foundation symbol -
snake, water and fire, or no snake?
Did the Mexica tend to have
one spouse, or many?
Is the story of Popo and Izta
ancient myth or folklore?
Did the Mexica
have and use maps?
Were battle standards sacred
or strictly utilitarian?
Has anyone identified the symbols on the war shields
as to which cities they represented?
What was the Aztec/Mexica
symbol for war?
How did a typical Aztec battle
play out?
Where can I find an image
of the goddess Tonantzin?
Why did the Aztecs always show monkeys
wearing an earring?
Who or what does the famous
double-headed serpent represent?
Who was ‘Cihuacóatl’
when the Spanish arrived?
Can you tell my son more about
the ‘crying boy’ whistling jug?
What’s the wind god holding
in this codex picture?
The Mexica symbol for gold
meant ‘gods’ poo’
How did the Mexica
design their gardens?
The mysterious rectangular motif
under the neck on Mexica women’s blouses
How did commoner clothes for the Aztecs
differ from that of nobles and royalty?
Did Cuauhtémoc have an emblem
on his shield?
What’s the name of the white cloth
worn by rulers round their shoulders?
Where did the Aztecs
store their food?
Can I call myself
Moctezuma?
Please identify the two gods
you’ve shown back to back
What materials were used
to make Aztec shields?
What’s the best starting point
to introduce our Aztecs unit?
How did the Aztecs make
stone pestles-and-mortars?
What can you tell us about
the Aztec God of Good Health?
Why did the Aztecs
wear headdresses?
How big was
the Aztec Calendar?
Where can I find an image
of the goddess Citlalicue?
Where did the Aztecs
build their pyramids?
Can you help our 10-year-old
with her project on Aztec food?
Is it Tezcatlipoca -
- or Tezcatilpoca?
It’s been called the most famous page
in pre-Columbian literature...
Can you recommend an Aztec protective image
for a tattoo?
How did the Aztecs
greet each other?
Are there any child friendly sources
on the Aztec view of the Conquest?
Who’s calling who
‘barbaric’?
My Mexican name is Cuitlahuac -
- what does it really mean?
The Myth of Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl
Caught in the middle?
How did Nahua women react to the Spanish conquest?
How long did the Spanish hang around
in Tenochtitlan after Moctezuma’s death?
Did Aztec men wear earrings
- and if so, what type?
How big was the
Aztec Army?
What can you tell us about Tenochtitlan’s twin city -