Daily Life of the Aztecs (Daily Life Through History Series) / Edition 2

by David Carrasco, Scott Sessions

Overview

Examine the fascinating details of the daily lives of the ancient Aztecs through this innovative study of their social history, culture, and continuing influence, written from the perspective of the history of religions.

Utilizing insights from the discipline known as the history of religions, as well as new discoveries in archaeology, pictorial manuscripts, and ritual practices, Daily Life of the Aztecs, Second Edition weaves together a narrative describing life from the bottom of the Aztec social pyramid to its top. This new and surprising interpretation of the Aztecs puts a human face on an ancient people who created beautiful art and architecture, wrote beautiful poetry, and loved their children profoundly, while also making war and human sacrifice fundamental parts of their world.

The book describes the interaction between the material and the imaginative worlds of the Aztecs, offering insights into their communities, games, education, foodways, and arts, as well as the sacrificial rituals they performed. The authors also detail the evolution of the Aztec state and explores the continuity and changes in Aztec symbols, myths, and ritual practices into the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313377440
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/06/2011
Series:	Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Davíd Carrasco is a Mexican-American historian of religions whose work on Aztec cosmology, cities, and ritual has forged new directions in the study of Mesoamerican cultures.

Scott Sessions is managing editor of the African-American Religion Documentary History Project and visiting lecturer in the religion department at Amherst College, Amherst, MA.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Chronology of Central Mexico xi

1 Cemanahuac: The Land Surrounded by Water 1

2 The Worldview of Balance: The Cosmic Tree and the Four Quarters 41

3 Mountains of Water: Tenochtitlan and Aztec Communities 71

4 Education and the Aztec Life Cycle: From Birth to Death and Beyond 97

5 The Social Pyramid: Maintaining Your Place and the World 133

6 Aztec Aesthetics: Flowers and Songs 167

7 Where the Jaguars Roar: Aztec Human Sacrifice as Debt Payment 191

8 The Two Tongues: The Aztecs Encounter the Europeans 217

9 The Long Event of Aztec Culture 239

Glossary 265

Selected Bibliography 275

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

These comprehensive works combine accessibility with impeccable research and scholarship. Aztecs has been updated from its first edition (Greenwood, 1998) with a cleaner design and recent research.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

A broad look at the pre-Columbian people of Mexico emphasizing the ceremonial character of their society. Lead writer Carrasco (history of religions, Princeton U.) describes games, education, food, popular riddles and poems, calendar, religion and myths, the marketplace, art and architecture, war, autosacrifice and sacrifice, and other elements of the culture. He also traces Aztec influence on modern Mexican society. His glossary of Aztec words includes pronunciation guides. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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