This Aztec pictogram depicts warriors drowning as a temple burns in the background. New research links the scene to a 1507 earthquake. Courtesy of Gerardo Suárez and Virginia García-Acosta A ...

The Aztec world didn’t disappear into legend. It left records on screenfold books made from bark paper and animal hide. Reading them today matters because they are the Aztecs’ own self-portrait, ...

Centuries-old codices from what is now Mexico hold a wealth of knowledge about the Aztecs in their native language, including details about the founding of their capital, their conquests and their ...

Disguised Mexica merchants in Tzinacantlan acquiring quetzal feathers in Book 9. (all images courtesy of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, and by permission of MiBACT) After centuries of ...

Before their defeat by the Spanish in 1521, the triple alliance ruled Mesoamerica through complex trade networks—and warfare. The Mexica priest Cuauhtlequetzqui points out the place where his people ...

Three codices from the 16th and 17th century describe historical details about the Aztecs and the area that is now Mexico City. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...