The Daily Life of THE AZTECS
ON THE EVE OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST
Jacques Soustelle Translated from the French by Patrick O'Brian
NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1962
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Librairie Hachette, 1955. Distribu par Presse-Avenir
English translation 1961 by George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd
First published in France in 1955 under the title LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE DES AZTEQUES A LA VEILLE DE LA CONQUETE ESPAGNOLE
Printed in Great Britain
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'For as long as the world shall endure, the honour and the glory of Mexico-Tenochtitlan must never be forgotten.'
Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin
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CONTENTS
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Origin and situation -- Extent and population - General appearance: roads and traffic -- Public buildings, squares and market-places -- The prob lems of a great city -- Tenochtitlan as a young capital |
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II SOCIETY AND THE STATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CEN TURY |
The ruling class -- The rising class of traders -- The craftsmen -- The common people -- The slaves - Wealth and poverty: standards of living -- The sovereign, the great dignitaries, the council |
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III THE WORLD, MAN AND TIME |
A shifting, threatened world -- Heaven and earth - Death and rebirth -- Destinies and signs -- An imperial religion |
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The house, furniture and garden -- Getting up, washing and dressing, clothes -- Business, work, ceremonies -- Meals -- Games and amusements - The rhythm of day and night |
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Baptism -- Childhood and youth, education -- Mar riage: family life -- Sickness and old age -- Death and the hereafter |
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The meaning of war -- Casus belli -- Chivalry - Conduct of war -- Negotiations for peace |
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Barbarism and civilisation -- Self-control, good breeding, social order -- The arts as a setting for life -- The arts of language, music and dancing |
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Appendix I The pronunciation of Aztec words |
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Appendix II The eighteen months and the rites |
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1 The legendary origin of Tenochtitlan, from the Codex Mendoza in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Photo: Bodleian Library, Oxford) |
2 The temples of Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli at Tenochtitlan, from the Codex of 1576 in the British Museum (Photo: John Freeman) |
3 Zapotec temple at Monte Alban, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
4 Reconstruction of Tenochtitlan as it was in 1519, from the drawing by Ignacio Marquina (Photo: Natural History Museum , New York) |
5 Serpents' heads on the temple at Tenayuca, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
6 The Emperor Tizoc, from a stone monument in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
7 Head of an 'eagle knight', in the Museo Nacional, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
8 A 'jaguar knight' in combat with a sacrificial victim, from the Codex Magliabecciano in Florence (Photo: John Freeman ) |
9 Warriors attacking an island, from the Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall in the British Museum (Photo: British Museum ) |
10 Grades of warriors and dignitaries, from the Codex Mendoza in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Photo: Bodlian Library, Oxford) |
11 Priests lacerating themselves with knives, from a drawing in Ramirez' Indias de Nueva Espaa (Photo: John Freeman) |
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12 Prisoner of war sacrificed to the god, from the Codex Florentino in Florence ( Bernadino de Sahagun's Historia de las cosas de Nueva Espaa) |
13 Human sacrifice, from the Codex Magliabecciano in Florence (Photo: John Freeman) |
14 Sacrificial knife with mosaic handle, in the British Museum (Photo: British Museum) |
15 Huitzilopochtli, aided by the Emperor Motecuzoma, sacrificing to the sun, from a stone in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
16 The goddess Chalchiuhtlicue, statue in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
17 The god Tlaloc, statue in the Museum Fr Volkerkunde, Vienna (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
18 Ometecuhtli and Omeciuatl, from the Codex Borgia in the Vatican (Photo: John Freeman) |
19 The god Xipe Totec, statue in the Museum Fr Volkerkunde, Basel (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
20 The god Quetzalcoatl, statue in the Museo Missionario Etnologico, Rome (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
21 The god Xochipilli, statue in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton , Munich) |
22 Turquoise and obsidian encrusted skull, in the British Museum (Photo: British Museum) |
23 Statue of a little dog accompanying the dead, Colima culture, from western Mexico |
24 Calendar stone once on the main steps of the great temple at Tenochtitlan, in the Museo Nacional, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Anton, Munich) |
25 Painting of a Tzitzimitl, from the Codex Magliabecciano in Florence (Photo: John Freeman) |
26 Education among the Aztecs, from the Codex Mendoza in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Photo: Bodleian Library , Oxford) |
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1. | 27 A wedding, from the Codex Mendoza in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Photo: Bodleian Oxford Library) |
2. | 28 Midnight revels of warriors, from a drawing in Ramirez' Indias de Nueva Espana (Photo: John Freeman ) |
3. | 29 Carved wooden single drum, in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, Mexico (Photo: Ferdinand Munich Anton ) |
4. | 30 A page of tribute records, from the Codex Mendoza in the Bodleian Library, Oxford |
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