Table of Contents

The search for the Aztecs; the conquest of Mexico; immigrants, settlers, and the first state; the climax of empire; Aztec religion and beliefs; the Aztec way of life; chronology of the Aztecs; major Aztec sites and museum collections.

Reviews

While studies of Aztec art, architecture, and religion have appeared at regular intervals, general textbooks have been infrequent. Thus, this comprehensive, exceedingly well-researched volume has merit, especially since it seeks to instruct rather than argue. The author's engaging prose breathes new life into even the most overworked topic--for example, the tale of Cortes's march to Tenochtitlan, repeated countless times, yet told here with novel freshness. Townsend, curator of the Art Institute of Chicago's department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, draws on new information and analyses from many fields of original research to create a strong competitor for Brian Fagan's excellent survey ( The Aztecs , Freeman, 1984), the most recent general text. Highly recommended for the general reader as the best available introduction to a complex subject.-- William S. Dancey, Ohio State Univ., Columbus