
The Aztecs
A Very Short Introduction
David Carrasco(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Will be published approx. on 26. January 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
152 pages
978-0-19-537938-9 (ISBN)
Description
This Very Short Introduction employs the disciplines of history, religious studies, and anthropology as it illuminates the complexities of Aztec life. Readers meet a people highly skilled in sculpture, astronomy, city planning, poetry, and philosophy, who were also profoundly committed to cosmic regeneration through the thrust of the ceremonial knife and through warfare. David Carrasco looks beyond Spanish accounts that have colored much of the Western narrative to let Aztec voices speak about their origin stories, the cosmic significance of their capital city, their methods of child rearing, and the contributions women made to daily life and the empire. Carrasco discusses the arrival of the Spaniards, contrasts Aztec mythical traditions about the origins of their city with actual urban life in Mesoamerica, and outlines the rise of the Aztec empire. He also explores Aztec religion, which provided both justification for and alternatives to warfare, sacrifice, and imperialism, and he sheds light on Aztec poetry, philosophy, painting, and especially monumental sculpture and architecture. He concludes by looking at how the Aztecs have been portrayed in Western thought, art, film, and literature as well as in Latino culture and arts.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
10 b/w halftones
Dimensions
Height: 174 mm
Width: 113 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
119 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-537938-9 (9780195379389)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2011
OUP eBook
€5.49
Available for download

Person
David Carrasco is the Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America at Harvard University. For his scholarship in Mesoamerican religions and his work on Mexican American culture he received the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle.
Author
Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of Latin AmericaNeil L. Rudenstine Professor of Latin America, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Content
Chapter 1: The City of Tenochtitlan: Center of The Aztec World ; Chapter 2: Aztec Foundations: Aztlan, Cities, Peoples ; Chapter 3: Aztec Expansion through Conquest and Trade ; Chapter 4: Cosmovision and Human Sacrifice ; Chapter 5: Women and Children: Weavers of Life and Precious Necklaces ; Chapter 6: Word Play, Philosophy, Sculpture ; Chapter 7: The Fall of the Aztecs ; Chapter 8: The Return of the Aztecs ; References ; Further Reading ; Index