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NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers, Oaxaca This (US) site has a whole range of excellent, carefully researched resources for teachers and students. Scroll down the r/h menu...Click here... |
Aztec (Mexica) Links of interest to Teachers and older Students
...and on pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica in general. Last checked, expanded and updated August 2020.
‘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.
https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/the-aztec-empire
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.
https://www.mexconnect.com/articles/398-star-snake-stories-for-a-culture-of-peace/
‘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!)
NOTE: Simon Levack’s website appears no longer to be accessible: we suggest you search for this novel on the wider web.
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
‘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
Whilst the original - romantic but also gruesome - Totonac legend of the origin of the vanilla plant (native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean), appears to be inaccessible (Feb 2015) from vanilla.com, here is a gentler version...
http://storiesfromtheamericas.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/legend-of-vanilla.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 our permission!).
We’ve discovered an alternative site, in English and Spanish, based on the research of Arturo Meza Gutiérrez, and run from Mexico. Give it a try...
http://www.azteccalendar.com
http://www.tonalama.com/today.asp#
Codex Laud online
A facsimile edition of the Codex Laud has been digitized at the University of Utah in the USA and can be viewed, page by page, on screen.
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=236036
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.chinampas.info/
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/
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
‘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/?period=03®ion=ca
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 ‘Artefacts of the Week’ archive).
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/
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.
http://www.carnaval.com/dead/aztec_poetry.htm
‘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.
https://www.stevonlucero.com
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 (repeated below) is to a free downloadable PDF 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
http://www.public.asu.edu/~mesmith9/MES-05-SciAm-.pdf
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 website has downloadable teaching resources, an interactive kids’ site on making chocolate, a knowledge of chocolate ‘challenge’, book list and much more.
http://archive.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://artmuseum.princeton.edu/legacy-projects/Sorcerers/index.html
Tlachia: Contextos Pictográficos del Nahuatl
Element-by-element analysis of Nahuatl glyphs in a wide range of (rare) Mexican codices, with pictographs, pronunciation sound files, and presentation of the full codex pages. Website in Spanish.
http://tlachia.iib.unam.mx
‘The Ancient Americas’ exhibition
A ‘ground-breaking’ 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://archive.fieldmuseum.org/ancientamericas/index.html
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
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. Now moved to Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/ExpoCodex/
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. NOTE: needs ShockWave software.
http://rea.ccdmd.qc.ca/ri/aztecas/
‘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.
https://www.mikkelaaland.com/the-native-american-sweat-lodge.html
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://nahuanewsletter.org/
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 - now archived - 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://wayback.archive-it.org/org-660/20130923205806/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 learn more about all of them. [For other Aztecs links at the BM, go to our ‘Aztecs (Pupils)’ links page.]
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?title=The%20Turquoise%20Mosaics
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://mikeruggeristoltecsandaztecs.tumblr.com/
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 extensive website of ‘The Aztec World’, a major exhibition on the Aztecs at The Chicago Field Museum (ended 2009).
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/aztecs/
Wargaming websites
We already refer to some of these in our feature on the ‘Chimalli’ (shield). Some, dedicated to reconstructing historical armies as miniature models, contain a wealth of well researched information, images and models. This is just one example.
http://balagan.info/?s=Aztec
‘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.
https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/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/tr00.html#obj44
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.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/conquest-of-mexico-paintings.html
Codex Quetzalecatzin
A rare and important 16th century Mexican codex has been acquired (2017) by the Library of Congress, and is now available to study online...
https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2017/11/the-codex-quetzelecatzin/
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/aztec-and-maya-law/aztec-law
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/
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...
https://findingaids.princeton.edu/collections/C0940
Aztec/Mexica/Nahua literature
The excellent ‘Words Without Borders’ online magazine for international literature contains some gems from Classical Náhuatl to modern tales from Mexico. This is one: ‘Dreams and Memories of a Common Man’.
http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article/dreams-and-memories-of-a-common-man
‘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://geog.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/
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.org/
‘All Aztecs went to school? A lesson for Mexico’
An article in the Christian Science Monitor comparing universal education under the Aztecs with the sorry state of indigenous schooling in Mexico today...
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0210/All-Aztecs-went-to-school-A-lesson-for-Mexico
Amoxcalli
Led by Dra. Luz María Mohar Betancourt, a Mexican codices expert at the CIESAS research institute in Mexico, this is a valuable digital archive of dozens of Mexican manuscripts and codices, with additional searchable databases (e.g. for specific artefacts). Confusing to navigate, with no contact details and only in Spanish, it remains a most useful research tool.
http://amoxcalli.org.mx/presentacion.htm
Virtual Mesoamerican Archive
Set up by the Wired Humanities Project at the University of Oregon (USA), this is a specialist portal site designed to offer students, faculty, and other serious learners an alternative to Google. Includes searchable databases of collection respositories (mainly museums), images, Mesoamerican scholars and teaching materials. The second link goes to the ‘Mapas Project’ - a virtual archive of colonial Mesoamerican pictorial manuscripts.
http://vma.uoregon.edu/about.lasso
https://mapas.uoregon.edu
Mayaincaaztec.com
This quirky little site, with photography by Warren Michael Stokes, includes some beautifully drawn illustrations of Aztec gods, codex images and more by the French journalist/artist Gwendal Uguen.
https://www.mayaincaaztec.com/aztec
Florentine Codex online
The full Codex is now available to view online as part of the World Digital Library. TIP: click on Coatepec Nahuatl to see the full menu.
http://www.wdl.org/en/item/10096/
Meso-American Produce
A well researched and illustrated introductory article on the main foodstuffs available to local Mesoamericans before the arrival of the Spanish. Prepared by Tecpaocelotl.
http://tecpaocelotl.livejournal.com/15075.html
Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl
Now fully available online, 100% freely accessible, the archive of perhaps the world’s leading academic journal on the Mexica/Aztecs (largely in Spanish).
http://www.historicas.unam.mx/publicaciones/revistas/nahuatl/nahuatl.html
Introduction to Mesoamerican medicine
A friend of ours has written a useful introduction to pre-Columbian medicine, with interesting facts on ancient schools of medicine.
http://tecpaocelotl.livejournal.com/15751.html
‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’
There are plenty of artefacts from Aztec, Maya and Central American cultures to explore using the interactive timeline. Created by the BBC in association with the British Museum.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/exploreraltflash/?tag=56&tagname=Aztec%2C+Maya+and+Central+America
Matrícula de Tributos
The Biblioteca Digital Mundial has uploaded a beautiful digitised copy of the original Matrícula (‘Tribute Roll’), a key source of information on tribute flows within the Mexica empire, produced in the years immediately following the Conquest.
http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3248/
IDIEZ
IDIEZ is a non-profit organisation based in Zacatecas that promotes the revitalisation of indigenous language and culture. They now offer individual or small group Skype-based lessons by native speakers in Modern Huastecan Nahuatl.
http://www.idiezmacehualli.org
Aztec Chronology
Prepared for his students by David K. Jordan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of California, this is an accessible, clear and honest presentation of key dates in Aztec history.
http://weber.ucsd.edu/%7Edkjordan/arch/aztecchron.html
Kingsborough’s ‘Antiquities of Mexico’
Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (1795-1837), an Irish antiquarian, created this splendid work, which is considered among the most important books ever printed on the subject of Mexican and Central American codices and archaeology. His principal contribution was in making available sixteen facsimiles of ancient Mesoamerican pictorial codices (many for the first time). His efforts cost him his fortune and he ended in a debtor’s prison in Dublin...
More on Kingsborough’s life and work can be accessed from research by Randa Marhenke (PDF).
http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/codices/pdf/Aglio-KingsboroughParisCodex.pdf
Tetlacuilolli
Directed by Dr. Luz María Mohar Betancourt of CIESAS in Mexico, this is a major new online digital archive of (lesser known) Mexican codices, with searchable databases of individual words and glyphs. The project is being developed with the British Museum to digitise Mexican manuscripts in the BM’s collections. It also includes sections from the Codex Mendoza in Oxford. Their website is currently down - below is a sister link.
http://seminario-novohispano.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/tetlacuilolli.html
‘The Huipil is the Message’
Short but appealing study of eight pre-Hispanic clothing designs and the meaning behind them. Nicely illustrated and a useful teaching resource.
https://www.chapala.com/chapala/magnifecentmexico/huipil/huipil.html
Templo Mayor (animation)
CONACULTA - Mexico’s government department of arts and culture - has produced an attractive and informative animated site on the Templo Mayor, with sections on the founding of Tenochtitlan, the TM archaeological site, the stages of its construction, its destruction, and a Mexica timeline in Spanish.
http://www.conaculta.gob.mx/multimedia/virtual_html/templomayor/eltemplo.html
Google Art Project
Google’s new Art Project allows virtual tours of entire museum galleries, in your own time. Several museums around the world include ancient American collections. The link below leads you into the wonderful Aztec Hall in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology. Click on the ‘Museum View’ icon on the left, then choose Level 0 (ground floor).
http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/museo-nacional-de-antropologia-mexico/
Przed Kolumbem
A growing and impressive set of photogalleries of pre-Columbian artefacts assembled by one of the few Mayanists in Poland, Boguchwala Tuszynska. The accompanying text, by Agnieszka Hamann is in Polish but the photos are international.
http://przedkolumbem.blogspot.co.uk/p/fotogaleria.html
TouchThisArt
Inspirational use of the Aztec Sunstone to create immersive, tactile art, particularly aimed at the visually impaired.
https://sites.google.com/view/touchthisart/home
Leonardo López Luján’s publications
Dr. López Luján, on our Panel of Experts, is one of Mexico’s leading archaeologists. His personal website provides free downloadable links to his best articles and books - in several languages.
http://www.mesoweb.com/about/leonardo.html
‘Animal and Human Stages in the Aztec Continuum of Life’
An academic but highly readable study of the animal forms of Quetzalcoatl, and how the Aztecs related to the spirits in every living thing. By Karl Young.
http://www.thing.net/~grist/ld/bot/ky-anm.htm
‘Aztec Religion and Nature’
Another academic but highly readable exploration of the Mexica approach to nature, sacred landscape and the spirit world, by Andreas Grünschloss.
http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~agruens/aztec/relignat.html
Nahuatl Dictionary
A serious online research tool developed by the team at Wired Humanities Projects, Oregon University, IDIEZ in Mexico and other academic partners.
https://nahuatl.uoregon.edu
Pre-Columbian Americas - Zoe Saadia
An unusual, beautifully presented blog by an author dedicated to recreating pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican history ‘through a series of action-adventure books’, all of which are very carefully researched.
http://blog.zoesaadia.com/
Codex Mendoza (Treasures of the Bodleian)
In the Bodleian Library’s ‘Treasures’ section online you can view, enlarge and even download a pair of folios (currently depicting an Aztec wedding) from the great Codex Mendoza; view a wide range of other folios; and listen to three sound clips of excerpts from the Codex in Náhuatl, English and Spanish (but beware - the one in Náhuatl/English has mistakes: pulque is not a Náhuatl word and is not a ‘pineapple’ drink, calmecac means élite school not ‘temple’, cuicacalli means House of Song...) And what a poor choice of reader for the English section!
http://treasures.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/Codex-Mendoza
The Resplendent Quetzal
‘The Transcendent Icon, Resplendent Quetzal project represents a sustained commitment by the Arizona State University Hispanic Research Center to the bird that is considered to be the most beautiful in the Americas and perhaps in the world...’ This new site extends and draws together research within various branches of humanities and sciences, relating to the importance of this extraordinary bird.
https://hrc.clas.asu.edu/hrcprojects
Ancient Cacao Map
‘This website is an interactive online database for gathering information about ancient cacao samples that have been discovered in archaeological sites and other contexts throughout the Americas.’ Developed by the Laboratory of Archaeology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
http://en.ancientcacao.com/
Trafficking Culture - Mexico
A pioneering new site/service, ‘researching the global traffic in looted cultural objects’. The Mexico section documents several fascinating cases...
http://traffickingculture.org/encyclopedia/places/north-america/mexico/
‘Infinity of Nations’
Beautiful and very informative website of the National Museum of the American Indian. This is their Mesoamerica section.
http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/mesoamerica-caribbean.html
Aztec Games
The ‘American History’ pages of the excellent website Collaborative Learning has a few resources on the Aztecs, including a couple of perfectly good, simple board games, on tribute and punishments. Scroll down to near the bottom...
http://www.collaborativelearning.org/historyamerica.html
Digital Codex Mendoza
Published by INAH, a new digital edition of the famous Codex is now available online, in a joint project between the Bodleian Library (Oxford University), King’s College London, University of California Press and Arqueología Mexicana magazine.
http://codicemendoza.inah.gob.mx/inicio.php
‘Codex Chimalpahin’
The three volumes concerned - including not only the Codex Chimalpahin but also the Codex Ixtlilxochitl and other works - have been digitised and put online by INAH, who acquired the originals from the Bible Society in the UK - which nearly sold the valuable documents on the open market in 2014!
https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/codice%3A838
Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project
The MMARP, currently housed in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, is a collection of materials resulting from the activity of an interdisciplinary working group of scholars, which for over thirty years has met in a series of conferences and other events under the leadership of Davíd Carrasco.
http://mmarp.com/
Codex exercise
A very useful ‘model’ for teachers wanting to try and plan/map out a sequence of codex pages following a simple ‘Story of the Aztecs’ theme; produced by the NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers.
http://blogs.uoregon.edu/mesoinstitute/about/curriculum-unit-development/codices/codex-exercise/
Codex Boturini
You can now study the Codex Boturini, telling the story of the journey of the Mexica (Aztecs) from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan, and have access to individual pages, downloadables and a route map via this INAH website. Excellent, but all in Spanish!
NOTE: The original website seems to have disappeared, but this INAH video of the Codex is a useful guide...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1nSjCyi7jI
English words from Nahuatl
Part of the Wikipedia entry on ‘List of English words from indigenous languages of the Americas’, it contains over 30 words...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Nahuatl_origin#Words_from_Nahuatl
Nahuatl one-word poems
A splendid introductory article by Ben Leeming, on the Nawatl Scholar blog, which includes some lovely examples of Nahua ‘micro poetry’, drawn from colonial Nahuatl texts.
http://nahuatlstudies.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/nahuatl-one-word-poems-guestblog-by-ben.html
Codex Aubin
The British Museum allows you to study in full colour each page of this important codex, and to use the images for teaching...
http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=178213001&objectId=3008812&partId=1
Pre-Conquest theatre
Though this is an academic article, it’s a rare and fascinating attempt to explore the art of theatrical performance in all its aspects, both before and after the Spanish invasion of Mexico. Written by Diana Taylor, Founder and Director of the Hemispheric Institute, New York University.
https://hemisphericinstitute.org/en/stages-of-conflict/pre-conquest-theatre.html
Smarthistory Sunstone video
Though not without some questionable assertions, this is an excellent, clear 6-minute video on the basic elements of the Sunstone by the staff of smarthistory, which provides high-quality and accessible teaching/learning resources for art history students around the world
http://smarthistory.org/the-sun-stone-the-calendar-stone-aztec/
Smarthistory feathered headdress video
A short 4-minute introduction to one of the most iconic of Mexica (Aztec) artefacts in the world, the headdress that legend has it belonged to Moctezuma II. The video is aimed at art history students.
http://smarthistory.org/feathered-headdress-aztec/
‘Call the Aztec Midwife’
Well researched and illustrated article for a general readership on the all-important role of the midwife in Mexica life and on Aztec childcare generally
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/01-02/aztec-midwife-practical-pregnancy-care/
‘Chocolate as Resistance’
‘Mexico’s Rich Chocolate Traditions Defy Corporate Globalization’ - article by Tamara Pearson, on the Towards Freedom website. Contains an excellent summary - ‘Some of the ways to consume cacao in Mexico’ with some well researched links
https://towardfreedom.com/archives/americas/chocolate-resistance-mexicos-rich-chocolate-traditions-defy-corporate-globalization/
¡Viva México! manuscript facsimile exhibition
A unique and intriguing digital exhibition of Mesoamerican manuscripts, from pre-Invasion to modern day, based on an exhibition held in 2010 at the J. Willard Marriott Library of the University of Utah, USA.
http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/rarebooks/exhibits/past/viva-mexico.php
A Day in the Life of a Mexica Noble
In Spanish An excellent article, on the +deMx (More About Mexico) cultural website, adapted from a National Geographic piece based on the classic work Daily Life of the Aztecs by Jacques Soustelle.
http://masdemx.com/2017/07/vida-cotidiana-tenochtitlan-mexicas-nobles-nobleza-azteca/
‘The Meeting: Two Points of View’
John Pohl’s one-page codex-illustrated retelling of the Spanish invasion from the Mexica point of view - complements our own Spanish ‘Conquest’ section. On the FAMSI website.
http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/pohl_meeting.html
Codex Borgia
High quality online publication of the Codex Borgia in the Vatican Library
https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Borg.mess.1
Codex Vaticanus B
High quality online publication of the Codex Vaticanus B in the Vatican Library
https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.3773
Biblioteca del Niño Mexicano
In 1900 a Spanish publisher commissioned José Guadalupe Posada to illustrate a series of pamphlets for children on the history of Mexico. Some of the covers, on Aztec themes, are seriously gruesome!
http://digicoll.manoa.hawaii.edu/jeancharlot/index.php
Cacao & Chocolate
One of the many excellent teaching resources from the NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers, Oaxaca, 2015 website; an extensive entry, full of good leads and information
https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mesoinstitute/about/curriculum-unit-development/stem/ethnobotany/cacao-chocolate/
‘The 18th-century chocolate champions’
In the British Museum blog series is this fun video, backed with images of early adverts for chocolate in London, featuring Tasha Marks and Paul Young giving a demonstration of preparing chocolate ‘the Mesoamerican way’ (with a little milk added...)
https://blog.britishmuseum.org/the-18th-century-chocolate-champions/
‘The Aztec: Life Under the Fifth Sun in Old Mexico’
Written by creator of Open Ended Social Studies Thomas Kenning, this is a commendable introduction to the Mexica/Aztecs, and includes an entertaining and well researched short video on the Aztec language, Nahuatl.
https://openendedsocialstudies.org/2016/06/22/the-aztec-life-under-the-fifth-sun-in-old-mexico/
INAH Mediateca
Delightful blog run by Mexico’s foremost anthropology and history institution, full of humorous animated objects - codex pages as well as artefacts. Just scroll down and enjoy! The site is in Spanish, but that’s irrelevant here...
http://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/blog
The Sunstone, in phenomenal detail
Thanks to Google Arts & Culture, you can now zoom in on the original Stone of the Suns, getting closer to it than ever before. There’s a detailed summary of its story too...
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/piedra-del-sol/9QF3u2yNtD8ufQ
Aztlan Listserv
‘Aztlan is one of the oldest and most respected listservs for the world of the Ancient Americas’. Highly recommended.
https://aztlanlistserv.tumblr.com
Pirate maps - the most valuable treasure of all!
‘Extremely valuable pirate booty, a stolen Spanish atlas bought the life of a 17th-century English buccaneer’ - National Geographic website
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/12/pirate-maps-all-over-the-map/
Tratamiento - handmade books from San Pablito Pahuatlan
Texas State University has uploaded photographs and translations of three late 20th-century books handmade in San Pablito Pahuatlan, written by curandero Alfonso Garcia Téllez. They have some wonderful descriptions of cave-entering rituals, and more...
https://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/casaa/codices/tratamiento.html
Rules of Patolli
No-one knows the precise rules of this ancient board game. An English board games specialist made a good stab at presenting a viable set of rules, uploaded here.
http://www.cyningstan.com/game/1165/patolli
Basic Nahuatl dictionary
We think this is a great start: simple to use, includes English, Spanish and Nahuatl (you can prioritise whichever), no frills...
https://manana.cz/slovnik/nahuaco_en.php
Crónica Mexicana
INAH have provided a digitised version of two of the 16th century manuscript copies of Hernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc’s work.
https://www.inah.gob.mx/boletines/8380-la-cronica-mexicana-de-hernando-de-alvarado-tezozomoc-en-plataforma-virtual
Mesoamerica, an introduction
Nice, straightforward introduction to the Where, When, What was/is Mesoamerica, with clear illustrations. From Khan Academy.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/beginners-guide-americas/a/mesoamerica-an-introduction
‘Dogs in the Art of Mesoamerica’
Photogallery taken by Boguchwala Tuszynska of over 100 canine models, in museums around Mexico, mostly representing the famous dogs from Colima and Nayarit.
https://przedkolumbem.blogspot.com/2019/12/fotogaleria-psy-w-sztuce-mezoameryki.html
‘Aztec or Mexica’
‘What is the Proper Name for the Ancient Empire?’ A useful and well researched summary of the key points surrounding the issue, from thoughtco.com.
https://www.thoughtco.com/aztecs-or-mexica-proper-name-171573
The Calpulli
An online article on the ThoughtCo. website written by Dr. Nicoletta Maestri. She describes the calpulli as ‘the social and spatial neighborhoods which were the main organizing principle in cities throughout the Central American Aztec empire’.
https://www.thoughtco.com/calpulli-core-organization-of-aztec-society-170305
Steve Klarer Paintless Paintings
Steve Klarer is a digital artist retired from the US to Mexico. Based on his studies of Aztec spirituality, he has created some impressive digital art inspired by themes from ancient Mesoamerican cosmovision.
https://5ea2174593ff3.site123.me
Molina’s Vocabulario
See the front cover of Fray Alonso de Molina’s famous 1555 Vocabulario en la lengua Castellana y Mexicana and delve into its contents, thanks to Mesolore.
http://mesolore.org/viewer/viewbook/3/The-Molina-Vocabulario
The Murder of Moctezuma
Insightful, bilingual article by Matthew Restall (on our Panel of Experts) in which he demystifies the myths surrounding the killing of Moctezuma.
https://www.noticonquista.unam.mx/index.php/amoxtli/2106/2098
