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    1. This document provides an overview and recommended readings for a seminar on the Aztec civilization. It focuses on their origins, empire, warfare, human sacrifice practices, and methods of domination over subject peoples. 2. Key books recommended for understanding Aztec society include works by Inga Clendinnen, Friedrich Katz, Miguel León-Portilla, G.C. Vaillant, and Jacques Soustelle. For a narrative history, Nigel Davies' work is suggested. 3. Specific readings are provided on topics like Aztec expansion under kings, the formation of the Triple Alliance, the organization of warfare, Aztec religion and its political purposes, the imperial city of Tenochtitlan,

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    1. This document provides an overview and recommended readings for a seminar on the Aztec civilization. It focuses on their origins, empire, warfare, human sacrifice practices, and methods of domination over subject peoples. 2. Key books recommended for understanding Aztec society include works by Inga Clendinnen, Friedrich Katz, Miguel León-Portilla, G.C. Vaillant, and Jacques Soustelle. For a narrative history, Nigel Davies' work is suggested. 3. Specific readings are provided on topics like Aztec expansion under kings, the formation of the Triple Alliance, the organization of warfare, Aztec religion and its political purposes, the imperial city of Tenochtitlan,

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    Precolumbian and Spanish America. Seminar 1: Aztecs: Origins and Empire

    Uploaded by

    moor602
    1. This document provides an overview and recommended readings for a seminar on the Aztec civilization. It focuses on their origins, empire, warfare, human sacrifice practices, and methods of domination over subject peoples. 2. Key books recommended for understanding Aztec society include works by Inga Clendinnen, Friedrich Katz, Miguel León-Portilla, G.C. Vaillant, and Jacques Soustelle. For a narrative history, Nigel Davies' work is suggested. 3. Specific readings are provided on topics like Aztec expansion under kings, the formation of the Triple Alliance, the organization of warfare, Aztec religion and its political purposes, the imperial city of Tenochtitlan,

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    PRECOLUMBIAN AND SPANISH AMERICA.

    Seminar 1: Aztecs: Origins and Empire.

    1. Explain the emergence of the Mexica as the leading political force in the Valley of Mexico.
    2. How did the Aztecs make war and why were they successful in war? Should we explain the
    Aztec conception of war in terms of religious belief or material ambitions?
    3. Why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice? Were their reasons chiefly religious?
    4. What do you find the most convincing explanation for rapid Aztec expansion?
    5. What was the nature of Aztec ‘empire’ and how did it differ from empires in ancient and
    early modern Europe? How did the Aztecs dominate subject peoples?

    Reading:
    A key book on Aztec society and culture is Inga Clendinnen, Aztecs: An Interpretation. This is,
    however, a sophisticated account which assumes basic knowledge. You are therefore advised to
    make sure you understand the basic features of Aztec history and society before turning to
    Clendinnen.
    Good short introductions to Aztec society are Friedrich Katz, "The Evolution of Aztec Society',
    Past and Present,no.13 (1958), Katz, Ancient American Civilizations, Chap. 10, and Miguel
    León-Portilla, "Mesoamerica before 1519", Cambridge History of Latin America, vol. 1. Longer,
    more substantial accounts of Aztec history and society are G.C. Vaillant, Aztecs of Mexico and
    Jacques Soustelle, Daily Life of the Aztecs.
    A good narrative history of the Aztecs is Nigel Davies, The Aztecs.
    On expansion under successive Aztec kings and the formation of the Triple Alliance, see Ross
    Hassig, Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control [Part 2]
    On the formation of the Triple Alliance, see Ross Hassig, Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion
    and Political Control [Chap. 10]; this book also contains a great deal of detail on the organisation
    of war . For a graphic account of the ways in which warriors fought, also see Inga Clendinnen,
    "The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society", Past and Present, no.107, (1985).
    A vivid narrative which stresses Aztec religion and its political origins and purposes is found in
    R.C. Padden, The Hummingbird and the Hawk [especially chapters 2-3]
    On the ‘imperial city’ of Tenochtitlan, see Inga Clendinnen, Aztecs: An Interpretation, Chapter 1.
    On the character of the Aztec ‘empire’ and a distinctive analysis of Aztec ‘imperialism’ is found
    in G.W. Conrad and A.A. Demarest, Religion and Empire. The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca
    expansionism.

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