The Aztecs
by Michael E. Smith
Detailed Table of Contents
This listing shows all of the section headings in the book.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Guide to Pronunciation and Spelling
Chapter 1. The Aztecs of Mesoamerica
......A Perspective on the Aztecs
......Mesoamerican Context
............Mesoamerican Environments
......The Aztec Environment
............The Valley of Mexico
............Surrounding Valleys
............The Social Landscape
......Sources of Information
......Ethnohistory
............Native Pictorial Manuscripts
............Reports of the Conquerors
............Accounts of the Chroniclers
............Colonial-Period Administrative Documents
......Archaeology
............Regional Survey
............Intensive Site Surface Studies
............Excavation
............Analysis and Interpretation
......Aztec Studies Today
Chapter 2. The Rise of Aztec Civilization
......Timetables
......Predecessors
............Teotihuacan
............Tula and the Toltecs
......The Aztlan Migrations(see figure)
......The Growth of Aztec City-States: The Early Aztec Period
............New Towns, New Dynasties (1150-1350)
............Teopanzolco and Tenayuca: Early Aztec Cities
............Mexica Outcasts (1250-1325)
......Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period
............Tenochtitlan’s First Century (1325-1428)
............The Empire of the Triple Alliance
Chapter 3. People on the Landscape
......How Many Aztecs?
............Counting Back from Colonial Census Figures
............Counting Sites
......The Aztec Diet
............Staple Foods
............Animal Foods
............Nutritional Status 
......Farming Systems
............Agricultural Intensification
............Farming the Hills (see figure)
............Farming the Valleys
............Farming the Swamps
............Farming in Town
............Household Enterprise or State Control?
......Rural Settlement
............Settlement Patterns
............Excavations at Cuexcomate and Capilco
......The Rural Landscape
Chapter 4. Artisans and Their Goods
......Utilitarian Crafts
............Obsidian
............Pottery
............Cotton Textiles (see figure)
............The Maguey Industries
............Copper and Bronze Tools
......Luxury Crafts
............Featherworking
............Goldsmithing
............Lapidary Production
......Otumba: an Aztec Craft Center 
Chapter 5. The Commercial Economy
......Marketplaces
............The Tlatelolco Market
............The Valley of Mexico Market System
......Merchants
......Money
......Material Evidence for Aztec Commerce
............Obsidian Exchange
............Ceramic Exchange
......A Complex Economy
Chapter 6. Family and Social Class
......Growing Up Aztec
............Birth and Childhood
............School
......Adult Life and Social Roles
............Marriage
............Gender Roles (see figure)
............Death and Burial
......Social Classes
......Commoners
............Peasants and the Calpolli
............Rural Life
............Urban Commoners
............Slaves
............Social Mobility
......Nobles and their Palaces
............A Rural Pilli at Cuexcomate
............Molotecatl, a Tecuhtli Lord in Molotlan
............The Tlatoani of Yautepec
............Nezahualcotyotl, Imperial Ruler of Texcoco
............Relations Among Nobles
Chapter 7. City-State and Empire
......City-States
............Altepetl
............The Tlatoani (king)
............Mapping City-States
......Relations Among City-States
............Peaceful Relations
............War and Domination
......The Empire of the Triple Alliance
............What Kind of Empire?
............Imperial Control in the Valley of Mexico
......Imperial Strategies and Control
............Tribute and Warfare in the Outer Provinces(see figure)
............The Economic Strategy
............The Frontier Strategy
............Imperial Fortresses and Cities
............Mexica Propaganda and the Limits of Empire 
Chapter 8. Cities and Urban Planning
......City-State Capitals
............Fictional Visit of Amecameca, an Aztec City
............Urban Planning and Layout
......Provincial Cities and Towns
............Monumental Archaeology: Coatetelco and Calixtlahuaca
............Social Archaeology: Yautepec
............Rural and Urban
......Tenochtitlan
............Urban Planning and Layout
............Tlatelolco
............Fictional Visit to the Imperial Capital
Chapter 9. Creation, Death, and the Gods
......Myths of Creation
............The Four Suns
............Quetzalcoatl and the Bones of the Ancestors
............The Birth of the Sun at Teotihuacan
............The Heroic Birth of Huitzilopochtli
......Aztec Religion: Historical Background
......The Gods
............The Teotl Concept
............The Deities
.......Death, Burial, and the Afterlife
Chapter 10. Temples and Ceremonies
......Priests
......Human Blood Offerings
............Autosacrifice
............Human Heart Sacrifice (see figure)
............Explaining Aztec Sacrifice
......The Templo Mayor
............The Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan
............The Templo Mayor
............Other Pyramids, Other Sacrifices
......Public Ceremonies
............The Monthly Ceremonies
............The New Fire Ceremony
............The Ballgame
......Private Rituals
............Domestic Ritual
............Magic, Astrology and Divination
Chapter 11. Science and Art
......Writing
............Paper
............Books and Scribes
............Mesoamerican Background to Aztec Writing
............The Aztec Writing System
............Types of Hieroglyphs
......Calendars and Astronomy
............The 260-day Ritual Calendar
............The Annual Calendar
............The Calendar Round and Year-Count
............Astronomy
.............Cyclical Time and Linear Time
......Technology
......Medicine
......Art
............The Mixteca-Puebla Style
............The Art and Politics of Imperial Sculpture
......Literature and Poetry
............Sacred Hymns
............Lyric Poetry
......Music and Dance
Chapter 12. Final Glory, Conquest, and Legacy
......The Final Century, 1428-1519
......Conquest by Spain
............Cortés and Motecuhzoma
............Perspective
......The Nahuas Under Spanish Rule
............The Encomienda
............The Church
......Continuity and Change
......The Aztec Legacy: Modern Nahua Indian Culture
......The Aztec Past and the Mexican Present
......A Wider Perspective
Notes
Glossary of Nahuatl Terms
References
Index
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The Aztecs, 2nd edition, © 2003 by Michael E.
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