Review
"Michael Smith is widely recognized as one of the few scholars whose work on Aztec society has creatively combined both archaeological and ethnohistoric methods. This research experience bears fruit in his revised edition of
The Aztecs, an authoritative scholarly work that incorporates the results of the most recent research, but which, at the same time, is written in a style that makes it an ideal textbook for college courses."
–
Richard E. Blanton, Professor of Anthropology, Purdue University
"Smith uses evidence from Aztec archaeology, ranging from the Templo Mayor to rural farmsteads, to complement the traditional picture based on chronicles and art history. The strength of this book is his synthesis of the social archaeology of everyday Aztec life established by recent excavations."
–Norman Hammond, Professor of Archaeology, Boston University
From the Publisher
Blackwell PublishersThis book is a vivid and comprehensive account of the Aztecs, the best-known people of pre-Columbian America. It examines their origins, civilization, and the distinctive realms of their religion, science, and thought. Employing the results of the latest excavations, all available historical documentation, and the author's first-hand knowledge of Aztec sites and artifacts, it describes the conquest of their empire by the Spanish, and their present-day survival in central Mexico. Using new evidence, the volume reconsiders the luxurious lifestyles of the nobility and reinterprets the role of religion in imperial rule and daily life. THE AZTECS describes the arrival of Cortès in 1519, his conquest of the empire, and the spread of European diseases that decimated the population and brought the Aztec civilization to an end. In conclusion it illustrates how the Aztec people and language survived, and form a vital part of contemporary Mexican culture.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.