Aztec writing sometimes used different colours to refine a word's meaning: This page is from an early 16th century book about Aztec imperial taxation, the Matricula de Tributos, now in the National ...

The Aztec Empire once hosted an expansive trade network that brought volcanic glass to its capital from right across Mesoamerica, coast to coast. The largest compositional study of obsidian artifacts ...

Researchers analyzed 788 obsidian artifacts from Tenochtitlan, revealing that the Mexica (Aztec) Empire sourced this important material from at least eight different locations, including regions ...

Spanish conquerors did not themselves bring inequality to the Aztec lands they invaded, they merely built on the socio-economic structure that was already in place, adapting it as it suited their ...

At the height of their power, the Aztec Empire supported a population of up to 3 million in the Valley of Mexico, and many of their largest cities had populations exceeding 100,000. This was not easy, ...

The story of the fall of the Aztec empire is a compelling human drama that has all to often been oversimplified into a story of perceived technological or cultural advantage. For centuries, Western ...

Built on the drained lakebed of an Aztec empire, Mexico City is sinking beneath the weight of 21 million people while running ...

Any digging in the concrete of a modern metropolis would most likely bring up only remnants of ancient sewerage systems, electrical wires, and other pieces of modern construction equipment. But when a ...

New archaeological research by Tulane University and the Proyecto Templo Mayor in Mexico reveals how obsidian—a volcanic glass used for tools and ceremonial objects and one of the most important raw ...