The great temple of the Aztecs : treasures of Tenochtitlan
Eduardo Matos Moctezuma (Author), Doris Heyden (Translator)
"The Aztecs have fascinated and horrified Westerners for centuries. Few will be unfamiliar with the stirring tale of how, in 1521, Cortés and his small band of followers toppled the New World's most powerful civilization. News of the glittering empire found by the conquistadors astounded Europe -- as did stories about ritual sacrifice carried out on temple-pyramids. Colonists and priests flooded into Mexico to conquer and convert. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was torn to the ground and a Christian Cathedral rose near where the Great Temple of the Aztecs had once stood. Soon even the location of the old cult center was forgotten. In 1978 a chance find led to the rediscovery of the Great Temple -- and the most spectacular series of excavations ever conducted in Mexico. The Great Temple of the Aztecs is Professor Matos' personal account of his triumphant researches over six years. The giant pyramidal structure, as he and his colleagues discovered, had been rebuilt at least six times. The earlier, lower phases had survived the depredations of the Spanish, thus preserving a superimposed sequence of standing remains. Associated with each building phase were ritual deposits containing literally thousands of offerings from all over the Aztec empire: jaguar skeletons, jade masks, obsidian knives, stone sculptures, effigy vessels. What was the meaning behind all these cult objects? In a compelling analysis, Professor Matos links the offerings to the symbolism of the temple as a whole and its fearsome deities, the war and rain gods. Fully illustrated and complete with quotations from contemporary Spanish writings, this is the definitive account of one of the major excavations of our time." -- Provided by publisher
192 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cm.
9780500390245, 050039024X
17968786
Introduction
The city of Mexico past and present
The Aztecs in history
The archaeology of the Great Temple
Treasures from the Great Temple
Aztec myth and the Great Temple
Tenochtitlan and its inhabitants
The destruction of Tenochtitlan
Translated from the Spanish