The Aztecs called themselves the Mexica—the root of the name for today's Mexico.
1325-1521 C.E.
The Aztecs called themselves the Mexica—the root of the name for today's Mexico.
1325-1521 C.E.
Learn about the language, origins, politics, religion, calendar, and art of the Mexica.
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In 1520, smallpox raged among the Mexica during the month of Tepeilhuitl when they would normally be making and eating sacred art made of dough.
Calendars also tell us a great deal about how Mesoamerican cultures understood and structured their world.
A manuscript tells the Indigenous side of a historic battle in Aztec Tenochtitlan.
Although viewership changed, the Aztecs’ painted language did not cease with Spanish intervention.
The goal of the eagle warrior was to capture the greatest number of captives, who would then be sacrificed to the Mexica gods. All warriors rose in rank according to the number of captives they acquired.
The Mexica people formed their capital when they saw the sign they had been promised: an eagle perched on a cactus.
Thirty-three feet long, the Codex Borgia records historical, ritual, mythological, and botanical information.
Capable of being male or female, the Earth Lord Tlaltecuhtli is shown here as a woman who has given birth.
This Mexica water goddess was believed to have presided over the fourth, or most recent, sun.
Identifying which god this mask represents has proven a slippery task.
The turquoise, shell and other materials used on this mask were collected from the far reaches of the Aztec empire.
Snakes shedding their skin was a powerful metaphor for the Aztecs and is reflected in their pantheon of gods.
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