At home with the Aztecs
Subtitle: an archaeologist uncovers their daily life
By: Michael E. Smith
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 144
ISBN-13: 9781138100749; 9781138100756
Subjects: Social life and customs; Aztecs; Antiquities
Description: "At Home with the Aztecs provides a fresh view of Aztec society, focusing on households and communities instead of kings, pyramids, and human sacrifice. This new approach offers an opportunity to humanize the Aztecs, moving past the popular stereotype of sacrificial maniacs to demonstrate that these were successful and prosperous communities. Michael Smith also engagingly describes the scientific, logistic and personal dimensions of archaeological fieldwork, drawing on decades of excavating experience and considering how his research was affected by his interaction with contemporary Mexican communities. Through first-hand accounts of the ways archaeologists interpret sites and artifacts, the book illuminates how the archaeological process can provide information about ancient families. Facilitating a richer understanding of the Aztec world, Smith's research also redefines success, prosperity and resilience in ancient societies, making this book suitable not only for those interested in the Aztecs but in the examination of complex societies in general."--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-140) and index.
Table of contents: title: Rusty nails, stone walls and a drum. The Aztecs : bloodthirsty savages or just regular folks? ; Who were the Aztecs, anyway? ; Aztec families and households ; Aztec communities ; My journey to Aztec households and communities; title: The discovery of Aztec peasants. The invisible Aztec peasant ; Background to the fieldwork ; Getting into the field ; Digging houses at Capilco ; More houses at Cuexcomate ; "Any idiot knows these walls were foundations for adobe bricks!" ; The village of Tetlama ; Where are all the bodies? ; Celebrating the end of the world ; Farming the hillsides ; The rainy season begins and the excavation ends; title: Reconstructing daily life. Our lab in the Emperor Maximilian's stable ; Hand-made tortillas ; The artifacts of daily life ; Access to markets ; The hidden realm of domestic ritual ; Rich and poor ; Changes in rural society; title: A high quality of life. Wealthy households ; Household choice and the diversity of goods ; External social networks ; Aztec summer camp ; The Mexica imperial protection racket ; The 1 percent and the 99 percent ; Successful rural households; title: Excavations in an urban community. Urban survey : knocking on doors and being chased by dogs ; The site is invaded by a squatters' settlement ; We excavate anyway ; An elite residence ; Burial of the dead ; Irrigation and urban agriculture ; Excavation in the churchyard; title: Urban life. Daily life ; Our laboratory in Yautepec ; Flutes, whistles, and rattles ; Obsidian workshops ; Scientific studies of trade ; Life in the big city ; Cortés and the Spanish conquest; title: Resilient communities. What is a community? ; The calpolli : key to community success ; Responsive local government : the city-state; title: Lessons from the dirt. A new view of Aztec society ; Why were these households and communities successful? ; Sustainable smallholder agriculture ; A new archaeology of households and communities ; The Aztecs and the urban revolution ; Lessons for communities today.