Tenochtitlan

Please note: all Visiting Scholar seminars are held mornings from 9-11 a.m., and afternoons from 2-4 p.m. Readings are from core Institute texts (see list of Core Required Texts below) and from readings placed on a Blackboard site accessible to participants only; the Blackboard readings will be found either on a Library e-Reserve list or in a content folder set up for each seminar date.

En el México prehispánico, el mercado o tianguis era el centro irradiador de comunicación y trueque. Al momento de la Conquista y durante todo el primer siglo de la Colonia, los testimonios españoles afluyen e inmortalizan la grandeza, la muchedumbre, los productos, la importancia para los indígenas de estar presente en el tianguis. Para la Iglesia no pasó por alto la ventaja de tener reunidas a tantas personas, de modo que plantó y estableció el mercado junto a la Catedral (como en Europa) y reemplazó las reliquias prehispánicas erguidas sobre el momoxtli por un predicador.

En este libro propongo una narrativa comprensiva y explicativa de la transformación ambiental del paisaje del Valle y Ciudad de México antes y después de la caída y derrota de la ciudad indígena de Tenochtitlan hasta la primera mitad del siglo XX. Tomo como eje de su relato y análisis el estudio de las ideas y proyectos, así como de algunos de los más significativos impactos socio ambientales que tuvieron las obras de construcción del Desagüe del Valle de México concluidas en 1900. Junto con ello estudio la percepción que de los problemas ambientales de la ciudad tuvieron sus habitantes y las prácticas ambientales de éstos, la opinión de científicos de la época sobre las causas del deterioro ambiental y social y sus soluciones, y destaco la estrecha relación que hubo a lo largo de los siglos entre la urbanización de la ciudad de México y el empeño secular y prometeico del poder político, aliado con los saberes técnicos y científicos, en dominar a la naturaleza mediante el desagüe del Valle para producir una ciudad desequilibrada social y ambientalmente, pero ajustada a los intereses y aspiraciones de individuos, gobiernos, empresarios y burocracias técnicas y científicas.

La historia de Isabel Moctezuma siempre ha despertado el interés de un amplio púbico debido a su juventud y belleza, a sus múltiples matrimonios y a su relación con Hernán Cortés, con quien procreó una hija. Asimismo, por ser una mujer fuerte, que no sólo sobrevivió a la Conquista, sino porque se adaptó al modo de vivir de las mujeres españolas y le sacó las máximas ventajas al sistema jurídico castellano. Prueba de ello es cuando comienza a proclamarse como la primogénita y legítima heredera de Moctezuma para seguir acrecentando su patrimonio.

IN ENGLISH: The Codex Mexicanus is a document that contains various sections of diverse contents. One of these sections concerns a genealogy of the most prominent members of Tenochtitlan’s royal house. I will analyze the contents of this section in order to demonstrate that its objective was to  show the  legitimacy of  the  royal members, since the  dynastic rights of  Itzcoatl’s descendants continued to be questioned during the sixteenth century. Th e arguments put forth were based on two fundamental aspects: the divine descent of some of the lords, and the intradynastic matrimonies they maintained through time.
EN ESPAÑOL: El Códice Mexicanus es un documento que contiene varias secciones de temática muy variada. Una de ellas trata sobre la genealogía de los miembros más prominente de la casa real de Tenochtitlan. En las siguientes páginas se analizará el contenido de esta sección, con el fin de demostrar que el objetivo de la misma fue exhibir la legitimidad de sus miembros, debido a que los derechos dinásticos de los descendientes de Itzcoatl se seguían cuestionando en el siglo XVI. Los argumentos descansaron en dos aspectos fundamentales: la ascendencia divina de algunos de  sus señores y  los  matrimonios intradinásticos que unos y  otros mantuvieron a  lo  largo
del tiempo.

This essay focuses on a unique Mexican folding screen (biombo) created in Mexico in the 17th century depicting a mitote (Moctezuma dance), Indian wedding, and flying pole (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). The text expands the author's earlier analysis of the screen (Casta Painting, 2004;  Una visión del México del Siglo de las Luces, 2006), placing it within the context of Amerindian and viceregal festive traditions.

Soon after the conquistador Hernán Cortés defeated the Mexica (commonly known as the Aztec) in 1521, their capital, Tenochtitlan, with its striking ceremonial center, was transformed into a Spanish city, the new locus of Spanish power and the setting for the emergence of a host of new political and religious rites. While in many ways these festive apparatuses introduced new forms of ritual and advanced a key new message—the willing submission to the Catholic prince—the indigenous communities of Central Mexico had had ample experience with highly ostentatious forms of ritual since pre-Hispanic times. This essay examines a number of texts and images that underscore the participation of Amerindians in festive rites in seventeenth-and eighteenth-century Mexico. Panegyric texts such as those describing the entry of a new viceroy or the ceremony of allegiance to a new monarch were carefully constructed to spread the idea of good governance. Native participation remained a fixture of many of these celebrations; how indigenous participants were represented and by whom are more complicated questions that are addressed in this essay.

In this paper presented at the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC, November 2013, the author proposes answers to questions which have puzzled scholars since the 19th century concerning the enigmatic recumbent Mesoamerican figure known as the "chacmool", so named by French adventurer and photographer Augustus Le Plongeon.  While most scholars are convinced that chacmools were a genuine innovation for a specific type of sacrificial altar for the placement of an offering bowl, several key questions have remained: (1) What was the culture and place of origin of this remarkable sculptural innovation? (2) Who were these male figures?  (3) What is the origin and meaning of the challenging recumbent pose for these human figures with the unblinking, enigmatic gaze? (4) What were they, and what were they called, or described with a phrase, in any Mesoamerican language? Based on recent archaeological discoveries, the author presents a new interpretation of the "chacmool" as the elite "hip ulama" ball game ballplayer stylistically rendered in a serene and formalized ritual “por abajo” stance, well after the game is over, to play the final role as the recipient of the sacrifices. With this new interpretation the author hopes to open the door to finding the indigenous name or description of the "chacmool".

En este artículo se estudia el recorrido ceremonial llamado Ipaina Huitzilopochtli que se llevaba a cabo en la veintena de Panquetzaliztli, la fiesta del dios tutelar mexica en el ciclo del calendario solar. Mediante un análisis comparativo tanto de distintas crónicas coloniales en náhuatl y en español, como de las contribuciones modernas, se reflexionan
aspectos olvidados por los investigadores. Asimismo, se analizan los distintos espacios por donde los protagonistas transitaban de un lugar a otro, y se examinan las personalidades sobrenaturales involucradas en el recorrido, en relación con la recreación anual del mito del nacimiento de Huitzilopochtli. Los resultados de la investigación sobre estos “múltiples” recorridos apuntan hacia la necesidad del estudio multifacético de la dimensión social y política del Valle de México, y del contexto de creación de las crónicas novohispanas, para el logro de una buena comprensión de acontecimientos religiosos determinados.

Follow the two (2) URL links to view this 2 page web based article (published May 3, 2015). Co-edited with Ian Mursell for Mexicolore (http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/) - who added many additional illustrations - based in part on an abbreviated version published in the "Smoking Mirror" Vol. 21, No. 4, December 2013, Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, DC.

http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/maya/ballgame/the-chacmool-and-the-ballgame-part-1

http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/maya/ballgame/the-chacmool-and-the-ballgame-part-2

The author proposes answers to questions which have puzzled scholars since the 19th century concerning the enigmatic recumbent Mesoamerican figure known as the "chacmool", so named by French adventurer and photographer Augustus Le Plongeon.  While most scholars are convinced that chacmools were a genuine innovation for a specific type of sacrificial altar for the placement of an offering bowl, several key questions have remained: (1) What was the culture and place of origin of this remarkable sculptural innovation? (2) Who were these male figures?  (3) What is the origin and meaning of the challenging recumbent pose for these human figures with the unblinking, enigmatic gaze? (4) What were they, and what were they called, or described with a phrase, in any Mesoamerican language? Based on recent archaeological discoveries, the author presents a new interpretation of the "chacmool" as the elite "hip ulama" ball game ballplayer stylistically rendered in a serene and formalized ritual “por abajo” stance, well after the game is over, to play the final role as the recipient of the sacrifices. With this new interpretation the author hopes to open the door to finding the indigenous name or description of the "chacmool".

At the surrounding structures of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, near a thousand lapidary objects were recovered. They were made of various raw materials foreign to the Basin of Mexico. These objects came from 12 offerings in six buildings, whose temporalities comprehend four constructive stages (IVb-VII) that go from 1469 to 1520 AD, during the reign of four tlaloque. The material was analyzed from a morpho-functional perspective, to determine the type of objects, forms, functions and frequencies, through their temporality and context. In the same way, by employing different archaeometric techniques (UV Light, XRF and FTIR), it was possible to identify the raw materials used in their production, such as aluminosilicates, travertines, obsidians, marbles and jadeites. Based on these data, I propose the possible supply zones of these rocks, as well as the complex network that they may have followed through their shipment to Tenochtitlan. Also, through the use of experimental archaeology and microscopic analysis (SEM and OM), it was possible to identify the techniques and processes employed in the manufacture of the objects, as well as determine their chaîne opératoires. Finally, addressing the theoretical concepts of production organization, production spheres, tradition and style; I proposed three production spheres detected through the technological analysis of the pieces. One of them reflects a local production of the imperial style, controlled and sponsored by the power organ. Another one is considered as a tradition of Central Mexico that dates back to the Formative period and lasts until the Epiclassic. And finally, the last one corresponds to a Mayan tradition of the Classic Period. These results promote the discussion on the reach of the Tenochcan Empire in the acquisition and craft of precious goods and foreign raw materials.

Hoy en día, la República Mexicana posee expresiones, manifestaciones, usos, costumbres y tradiciones muy ricas y diversas, gracias al resultado de la mezcla entre la herencia de las antiguas civilizaciones Mesoamericanas que habitaron y florecieron en el territorio nacional antes de la llegada de los españoles, así como el vasto legado cultural, ideológico, social, económico, jurídico y político que éstos últimos nos dejaron desde la Conquista, en el año de 1521, hasta consumada nuestra Independencia trescientos años después; generando de ésta forma a la compleja mexicanidad que nos identifica, nos define y nos individualiza como mexicanos frente a los demás pueblos y naciones del mundo; y que, además, ésta no se queda estática, es decir que, aun en la actualidad, todavía sigue en un constante estado de evolución, pues está enriqueciéndose y, a la vez, enriquece a otras sociedades y culturas contemporáneas.

Es importante decir que las antiguas civilizaciones Mesoamericanas han sido el objeto de estudio de diversos científicos y estudiosos de la materia, por su relevancia histórica y cultural para la humanidad; lo que fue, en su momento, la gran Tenochtitlán, no ha sido la excepción. Así, la civilización Mexica, ha sido considerada como uno de los pilares fundamentales para el desarrollo y el florecimiento de otras culturas contemporáneas a su época, e inclusive, esta Cultura fue objeto de una gran admiración por parte de sus Conquistadores.
Por otra parte, esta cultura, como toda civilización humana, estuvo organizada con un sistema jurídico afín al del antiguo Imperio Romano, pues estaban presentes el Derecho de las Personas y la Familia, las Sucesiones, el Derecho de Propiedad sobre Bienes Raíces, Comercio, Obligaciones y hasta el propio Derecho Fiscal, el cual se encargó de regular la recaudación de las diversas contribuciones que sostenían al Imperio, así como las formas en que eran recaudados y distribuidos para sufragar los gastos públicos de la Metrópoli: Tenochtitlán, el cual, a su vez estuvo fuertemente influenciado por los usos y costumbres de esta sociedad prehispánica.

This essay considers four woodcut images included in the Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii in order to position the Nuremberg codex as an announcement to Europe of the Spanish monarchy’s evangelical ideology regarding the New World. The images enabled the codex to herald the transformation of New Spain from idolatry to Christianity under the control and direction of the Spanish Habsburg king and with the blessing and sanction of the pope. The image of Pope Clement VII highlights the papacy’s role in the New World’s spiritual formation, providing the linchpin for understanding the volume in a new way. Coupled with the other texts and images, it helped communicate the impending establishment of that world as Christian. I link apocryphal images of Jerusalem and medieval mappae mundi to the organization of the Map of Tenochtitlan, and suggest that Renaissance concepts of Ambrosius Holbein’s image Utopia, provided a model.

La capital azteca fue una de las ciudades más grandes y complejas del mundo: construida en una isla en medio de un lago poco profundo, con una sólida infraestructura para lidiar con los recursos hídricos, su población llegó a rondar los 150 mil habitantes. Y sin embargo, en 1521, en la cúspide de su poder, la urbe imperial se rindió ante Hernán Cortés y sus exiguas tropas. Se diría que entonces murió Tenochtitlan y nació la ciudad de México. Basándose en un original análisis de crónicas, mapas, esculturas y restos arquitectónicos, Barbara E. Mundy muestra en esta obra que la joya urbana de los mexicas siguió brillando en la ciudad edificada por los conquistadores españoles —y que algo de ella aún late en la megalópolis de nuestros días—. La autora no sólo pone de relieve el papel que los pueblos indígenas jugaron en la configuración de la capital novohispana, sino que demuestra que las élites aztecas, que conservaron un gran y sutil poder incluso después de la conquista, contribuyeron a la construcción —arquitectónica, simbólica, social— de la nueva ciudad.

Resumen.

En el presente artículo se discuten las transformaciones que experimentaron, en el límite sur de la antigua isla de Tenochtitlan, la espacialidad y las zonas de liminalidad colectiva de la época prehispánica cuando estas se orientaron hacia las nuevas modalidades de territorialidad y de fijación fronteriza institucionalizada y que definieron a la república de indios afincada en su heredera virreinal –la Ciudad de México– desde el siglo XVI. Mediante la colecta y la sistematización de un amplio espectro de fuentes archivísticas, documentales y bibliográficas, se somete a examen el cambio taxonómico en la condición administrativa de cuatro centros poblacionales meridionales con carácter conurbano: Toltenco, Zoquipan, Mixiuhcan e Iztacalco. En este sentido, se analiza la conjunción entre los intereses tributarios de la elite indígena cabildante de la ciudad, la superación de catástrofes ecológicas y la agencia política ofrecida por la Orden de San Francisco.

Abstract.

This article analyzes the transformations of the southern border of the ancient Tenochtitlan Island in terms of spatiality and collective liminality zones in pre-hispanic times when these changes were oriented toward new territorial modalities and institutional border determination. These characteristics defined the Republic of Indians that was settled amidst
the viceroy territory (Mexico City) from the 16th century. Collection and systematization of a broad range of archive, document, and bibliographic sources resulted in the taxonomic change of the administration status for four southern population centers with conurbation characteristics: Toltenco, Zoquipan, Mixiuhcan and Iztacalco. The conjunction among tax interests of the elite indigenous members of the city Cabildo, the overcoming of ecological catastrophes, and the political agency offered by the Saint Francis Order.

There exists a vast literature examining every aspect of Aztec culture. Despite this, few studies focus specifically on Aztec architecture and its implications for understanding broader aspects of Aztec cosmology. This dissertation contributes to our knowledge of Aztec society through an exploration of architectural and urban design principles that guided the building of their cities and ceremonial precincts.

By examining ethnohistoric and archaeological sources, and drawing on evidence from several disciplines—art, astronomy, geography, geometry, mathematics and religion—I compile a body of information relevant to the study of Aztec architecture and urban planning. Cosmovision studies offer an understanding of ritual space and time; pictorial manuscripts contribute mathematical insights; analyses of monumental sculpture provide geometric knowledge; and high mountain archaeological research highlight the sacred landscape. The resulting information was then used in a set of archaeoastronomical analyses of seven pre-Aztec and Aztec architectural complexes. This approach builds on previous studies that have revealed the importance of astronomical considerations in Mesoamerican settlements.

In order to analyse Aztec ceremonial architecture and urban planning from an archaeoastronomical perspective, I developed a methodology that allowed accurate analyses of the astronomical and topographic orientations of settlements and ceremonial architecture. This methodology integrates a wide range of digital applications including Google Earth, Google Maps, solar charting, topographic analysis, open-content collaborative, geo-location-oriented photo sharing applications as well as a custom-built geometric application.

The results allow for a new understanding of: (1) the design principles of the Huey Teocalli, the unique Aztec double-temple architectural type found in almost all of their ceremonial centres, (2) the layout and design principles utilized in the construction of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco and, (3) the Aztec remodelling of Tenayuca, Santa Cecilia Acatitlan and Teopanzolco. These analyses are also extended to the antecedent cultures of the region, revealing new aspects of the urban design principles of Teotihuacan and Tula including an additional interpretation of the Tlaloc mural in Teotihuacan.

The implications of this research extend beyond Aztec scholarship, providing a replicable methodology that can be applied to the archaeoastronomical analysis of ancient settlements and ceremonial structures anywhere in the world.

Todos sabemos que los nahuas nombraron al país de los tarascos como “Michhuacan” (“Lugar de los dueños de pescado”) y a sus pobladores “michoacaque” o “michoa” (“Hombres abundantes de peces”), debido a la riqueza de ictiofauna que habitó en las desaparecidas cuencas hidrológicas del Occidente de Mesoamérica; esta denominación aún se conserva para referirse al territorio del Estado de Michoacán de Ocampo y sus habitantes.

Pero ¿cómo nombraron los tarascos a sus principales enemigos, los tenochca, y la otrora capital del imperio mexica? ¿Qué nombre le dieron a su dios patrono? ¿Quién fue el “huey tlaloque” cuyo ejército fue derrotado como moscas que caen en el agua por los tarascos en 1476? ¿Cómo se referían los tarascos a los hablantes de náhuatl?

Estas preguntas se contestan en la presenta infografía, con la información dispersa en las crónicas y diccionarios de lengua tarasca del siglo XVI.

Ricardo Carvajal Medina


FUENTE: CARVAJAL MEDINA, RICARDO. La guerra en el Michoacán prehispánico en el Posclásico Tardío. Economía política, Estado y sociedad tarasca. Tesis para obtener el grado de Licenciado en Historia. Asesor: Igor Cerda Farías, Morelia, Facultad de Historia de la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, 2019, pp. 394, 395, 543 y 625.

Análisis de un biombo novohispano (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) del siglo XVII que representa un mitote (danza de Moctezuma), desposorio indígena y un  palo volador,  junto a otros ritos festivos de origen prehispánico como el juego de pelota. Este estudio examina varias imágenes y fuentes textuales (muchas inéditas) con el fin de contextualizar la pervivencia de dichas tradiciones durante la colonia y su posible interpretación por los diversos grupos que componían la sociedad virreinal.

This study explores the reading and writing practices of Joseph Ha-Kohen, a sixteenth-century Jewish chronicler from Genoa, against the background of his Italian and Spanish sources: in what ways and why did he adapt, change or subvert their narratives? It focuses on two of Ha-Kohen's major works: his Franco-Turkish Chronicle, and his Hebrew adaptation of López de Gómara's account of the Spanish conquests in the Americas. Based on these writings, the essay asks how the author’s Sephardic identity and migration experience inform his ideas about the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires. Notably, the Jewish chronicler applauds the Ottomans’ conversion of churches into mosques, while he condemns the forced Christianization of the Amerindians. At the same time, Ha-Kohen shares cultural attitudes with Gómara and voices qualified support for a Spanish civilizing mission. These ambiguities in Ha-Kohen’s writings—oscillating
between praise and repudiation of imperial ideology—prove to be emblematic of post-expulsion Sephardic Jewry.

Over the course of the sixteenth century in Mexico (NewSpain), alphabetic writing replaced pictography as the chosen form of written expression in indigenous communities. A new social role, that of the native language escribano (notary), emerged, eventually to become a principal cultural broker in the colonial period. Despite the indigenous escribano’s importance, his origins and the source of his authority within the native sphere are poorly understood. This article offers a close reading of a corpus of hybrid pictographic-alphabetic documents, written in Nahuatl and created between 1553 and 1572 in the indigenous cabildo (town council) of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Within this important body, escribanos appear early in the documentary record; it was within the established indigenous ecosystem of governance that escribanos first found a niche.
Here, pictography flourished, as did performances unique to the indigenous sphere. The corpus reveals how escribanos worked side by side with indigenous tlahcuilohqueh, or painters, who drew on a long-established tradition of manuscript painting and cartography to create property maps. These maps adhered to established codes, both social and visual. Initially preeminent in itself, the work of the tlahcuilohqueh came to supply meaning and public authority to the work of the escribano in this crucial formative period.

Se hace resumen del papel de los cambios climáticos en la historia de los pueblos. Particularmente de los pueblos mesoamericanos.
Se relata el tránsito de los clovis hasta el Valle de Anáhuac. Se explica la relación de los cambios climáticos con la civilización. Se alerta sobre el calentamiento actual y sus futuros impactos.
Se explican las diferencias entre la visión de los pueblos originarios y los pueblos occidentales.

This thesis is an original interpretation of the Teocalli or Ceremonial Precinct of Tenochtitlan, the religious and political center of the Aztec Empire. The reconstruction was based on several types of sources, including: [1] historical (the accounts written by the conquistadors -Hernan Cortes and Bernal Diaz del Castillo- and the chronicles compiled by the missionaries -Fray Bernardino de Sahagun and Fray Diego Duran-);. [2] iconographical (the Codex Borbonicus, the Nuremberg Map, and the Primeros Memoriales Plan); and [3] archaeological materials (the 'Cathedral' and the 'Templo Mayor' excavations). Digital models were constructed by taking into consideration Aztec archaeoastronomical principles and measuring systems. The result is the most accurate and inclusive view of the Ceremonial Precinct since Tenochtitlan was destroyed more than five centuries ago. This research project is being presented in digital form in lieu of the conventional research paper. The organization of materials and findings into a multimedia format was particularly appealing due to its interactive character. The Aztec conception of the universe divided into layers was used as the metaphor for the digital design, therefore the interactive design was divided into six 'layers': [1] An 'Introduction' that defined the research project and the multimedia format; [2] 'The History and Culture of the Aztecs' that provided the cultural background; [3] 'The Role of Archaeoastronomy in Architecture' that explained the archaeoastronomical principles (concepts of positional astronomy employed in ancient Mesoamerican architecture) and the Aztec measuring systems; [4] 'The Digital Interpretations' that gave the user the option of exploring the Ceremonial Precinct either by source or by architectural element; [5] 'The Bibliography' that covered credits from books, images, and sound; and [6] 'Glossaries' that would help the user to understand terms, chronology and ceremonies of the Aztecs. The results of this thesis are of interest to a wide range of disciplines, since it offers not only one of the most accurate views of the Ceremonial Precinct of Tenochtitlan, but it also demonstrates the application of archaeoastronomical and geometrical principles for reconstructing Aztec architecture.

Today people see fewer real dead bodies than at any time in history. Yet in the modern world we seem almost obsessed with images of death. In an investigation encompassing ancient Jericho, Aztec America, and classical Italy, How Art Made the World discovers what it is that has compelled human beings to surround themselves with images of death for thousands of years.

Death captured the mind of early man, and since then it has driven us to create some of the most powerful images in the world.

The episode starts in Jericho (in the Jordan Valley) where in the 1950 Cecil Western, the British Archeologist, discovered decorated skulls with a reconstructed nose and shells as replacement for eyes. The skulls were found in the walls of homes and it appears they had been placed in specially made alcoves. Since their discovery, other decorated skulls have cropped up all over the Middle East.

All animals have an instinct to avert their own death, it’s a basic survival mechanism. Humans, however, are the only creatures that understand the inevitability of  death. Psychologists understand that there is a way to overcome the fear of death, and that is by creating images of our ancestors. Professors Solomon and Greenberg have done experiments with two groups of students. Using subliminal images they persuaded students to thinks of death. They then showed both groups images of dead celebrities. The subjects were given the choice of how long to look at pictures, and those who were made to think about death wanted to look at images for longer ( Solomon and Greenberg explain this is for reassurance ). In Jericho, in the 1st millennia BC, the average life expectancy was 24. The prospect of death would have terrified them and these artistic representations would have allowed them to keep their ancestors alive.

Reassurance, however, is only part of story. Some have used images of death for opposite effect, to exploit our fear of death. The French painter Jacques Louis David used the image of Marat (the leader of the revolution) murdered in bath to gain support for their cause. The SS used images of the skull and cross bones on their uniforms to strike fear in their victims. The Peruvian Moche created the Waca Da Luna temple to honor their human sacrifices. The walls of this temple show horrific images of death, featuring spiders with human faces and fangs, lizards that have been decapitated and the pottery found their shows people having their eyes pecked out by birds. A mass human grave was found nearby and many of the bodies had been both decapitated and dismembered, the bodies were those that had been sacrificed by the Moche. The neighboring Aztecs, however, did human sacrifice on an industrial scale. In one four-day event, over forty-thousand people were sacrificed. Archeologists believe that the mass sacrifices of the Aztecs were to repay the debt of their sun god, who used his own blood to keep the sun alive. If his debt was not repaid with their most highly prized gifts (their lives) then the sun would go out. This is one of histories most successful regimes of terror, that kept a tight grip on their people, thankful to be Aztec rather than the victims of the sacrifices.

Solomon and Greenberg have collected evidence which shows, that by reminding people of their own death, it drives them to support those that share their values and oppose those who don’t. It’s a universal instinct across time. When we think about death we become more invested in our own belief system (Solomon and Geeenburg). This has been used through out history and one that Christians can relate to best is the image of Christ on the cross, or simply the cross. A symbol of a man oozing blood, dying a terrifying death.

The Etruscans are not as well known as the Romans, but they laid the foundations of Rome, most things we remember of the Romans were in fact traditions from the Etruscans. The main archeological record we have are their tombs, and these contain vivid images of the afterlife. The tombs were designed as houses for the dead with carvings of all they would need in the afterlife. Thousands of years after traces of the Etruscan civilisation had vanished overground, their dead cities surfaced. In 1985 a pipeline for Tarquinia was being laid and during the excavation a new tomb was discovered. Archeologists used cameras to look into the tomb and what they first saw was unexpected. At first they saw the reassuring images they expected, but then they turned the cameras around and on opposite wall were disturbing images of blue demons, rotting flesh, snakes, and a winged devil. The tomb dates back to 420BC and these are the oldest surviving image of hell. In the 200 years leading up to this, the Etruscans created images promising a happy afterlife, but threatened by the rise of the Romans, these tombs acted as a call to arms. Damned or saved these reminded them of what awaited, if they failed in defending against Romans. This is the earliest know use of conflicting images being used together: Redemption images.

Later in AD1500, in Orvieto, the Estrucian capital, the Christians built a cathedral, they painted frescoes showing on one wall the damned going to Hell and the opposite wall the saved going to heaven. Uncannily similar images to those of the tomb and the devils are depicted in a green / blue. The Etruscan legacy, that redemption can lead people to look forward to death, rather than fear it.

When we no longer fear the inevitability of death, not only are we prepared to give up life for a greater good, we do so knowing that we are remembered for it, a heroic death.

When Cortes and his men marched awestruck into the capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan, they thought they had discovered a new Eden. Yet within a few years of their arrival, this paradise was but ruins; its glory confined to those who lived to remember it, and the few depictions of it which survived its destruction. The 1524 map of Tenochtitlan, published in Nuremberg, is one such relic. How was it created? What does it reveal of the legendary city? And what insights can it yield both into the minds of the early imperialist Spaniards who engraved it, and the European audience experiencing their first glimpse of a North American empire whose power and magnificence seemed on par with their own.

Espanol: El objetivo de esta ponencia es reportar las problematicas surgidas por el interes en promocionar a la zona arqueologica de Teotihuacan como centro turistico y poner al visitante como actor principal, exponiendo a los vestigios arqueologicos a maltratos innecesarios muchos de los cuales, no podran ser favorecidos con ningun tipo de trabajo de restauracion. Al finalizar se ofreceran algunas propuestas con la finalidad de buscar un equilibrio entre el turismo y la conservacion del patrimonio cultural.
English: The main objective of this paper is to assess the problematic that arose from the interest in promoting the archaeological site of Teotihuacan as a tourist destination, giving the visitor the main role. As a result, the historical remains were exposed to unnecessary damages, some of them irreparable. The final part of this paper includes a consideration of several proposals searching for a balance.

The article summarizes the historical information available to determine the period, characters, and reasons that may have led to the creation of the Codex Borbonicus, the most important Aztec painted book on Native religion. It proposes that a cihuacoatl tecuhtli and governor of Mexico-Tenochtitlan after the conquest, Motelchiuhtzin, baptized as Andrés de Tapia, may be behind the creation of the document, which eventually reached Spain with Tapia’s son, Hernando, when he traveled to petition for the rights of his family.

Ser un poeta que escribe, en nuestros días, sobre la ciudad de Londres, Buenos Aires o Jerusalén tiene sus difi cultades. Pero escribir sobre una ciudad que ha crecido hasta desbordarse exige estrategias de apropiación poética en constante renovación. Por distintos caminos, un poema puede crear la ilusión de devolvernos una imagen reconocible del lugar, pero la ciudad escapará a la imagen, y el poeta nunca será dueño de la ciudad...