Aztec History Book

capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, was, in its era, one of
The
largest cities in the world. Built on an island in the middle of a
the
lake, its population numbered perhaps 150,000, with
shallow
350,000 people in the urban network clustered around the
another
shores. In 1521, at the height of Tenochtitlan's power, which
lake
over much of Central Mexico, Hernando Cortés and his
extended
conquered the city. Cortés boasted to King Charles V of
followers
that Tenochtitlan was "destroyed and razed to the ground."
Spain
CHACO MERIDIAN: ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF POLITICAL
THE
RELIGIOUS POWER IN THE ANCIENT SOUTHWEST
AND
this return to his lively, provocative reconceptualization of the
In
of Chaco Canyon and its monumental 11th-century
meaning
Stephen H. Lekson expands—over time and distance—
structures,
understanding of the political and economic integration of the
our
Southwest.
American
argument that Chaco did not stand alone, but rather was
Lekson’s
first of three capitals in a vast networked region incorporating
the
of the Pueblo world has gained credence over the past 15
most
Here, he marshals new evidence and new interpretations to
years.
the case for ritual astronomical alignment of monumental
further
and cities, great ceremonial roads, and the shift of the
structures
capital first from Chaco Canyon to the Aztec Ruins site
regional
then to Paquimé, all located on the same longitudinal
and
meridian.
DEATH OF AZTEC TENOCHTITLAN, THE LIFE OF
THE
CITY
MEXICO
But was it?