The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs: (Oxford Handbooks)

The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, the first of its kind, provides a current overview of recent research on the Aztec empire, the best documented prehispanic society in the Americas. Chapters span from the establishment of Aztec city-states to the encounter with the Spanish empire and the Colonial period that shaped the modern world. Articles in the Handbook take up new research trends and methodologies and current debates. The Handbook articles are divided into seven parts. Part I, Archaeology of the Aztecs, introduces the Aztecs, as well as Aztec studies today, including the recent practice of archaeology, ethnohistory, museum studies, and conservation. The articles in Part II, Historical Change, provide a long-term view of the Aztecs starting with important predecessors, the development of Aztec city-states and imperialism, and ending with a discussion of the encounter of the Aztec and Spanish empires. Articles also discuss Aztec notions of history, writing, and time. Part III, Landscapes and Places, describes the Aztec world in terms of its geography, ecology, and demography at varying scales from households to cities. Part IV, Economic and Social Relations in the Aztec Empire, discusses the ethnic complexity of the Aztec world and social and economic relations that have been a major focus of archaeology. Articles in Part V, Aztec Provinces, Friends, and Foes, focuses on the Aztec's dynamic relations with distant provinces, and empires and groups that resisted conquest, and even allied with the Spanish to overthrow the Aztec king. This is followed by Part VI, Ritual, Belief, and Religion, which examines the different beliefs and rituals that formed Aztec religion and their worldview, as well as the material culture of religious practice. The final section of the volume, Aztecs after the Conquest, carries the Aztecs through the post-conquest period, an increasingly important area of archaeological work, and considers the place of the Aztecs in the modern world.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Archaeology of the Aztecs Introduction Aztec Studies: Trends and Themes Deborah L. Nichols and Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría Chapter 1 Ancient Stone Sculptures: In Search of the Mexica Past Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Chapter 2 The Historical Sources: Codices and Chronicles Juan José Batalla Chapter 3 Museums and the Conservation of Mexica Cultural Heritage María de Lourdes Gallardo Parrodi Part II. Historical Change Chapter 4 Comments on Cultural Continuities Between Tula and the Mexica. Luis M Gamboa Cabezas and Robert H. Cobean Chapter 5 Aztec Settlement History Larry Gorenflo and Christopher P. Garraty Chapter 6 The Creation, Rise, and Decline of Mexica Power Enrique Florescano Chapter 7 The Measure, Meaning and Transformation of Aztec Time and Calendars Anthony F. Aveni Chapter 8 Aztec Pictography and Painted Histories Elizabeth Hill Boone Chapter 9 The Languages of the Aztec Empire Jane Hill Chapter 10 Aztec State Making, Politics, and Empires: The Triple Alliance Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton, and Verenice Heredia Espinoza Chapter 11 Nahua Thought and the Conquest Michel R. Oudijk and Maria Castañeda de la Paz Part III. Landscapes and Places Chapter 12 Aztec Agricultural Production in a Historical Ecological Perspective Emily McClung de Tapia and Diana Martínez Yrizar Chapter 13 Population History in Pre-Columbian and Colonial Times Lourdes Márquez Morfín and Rebecca Storey Chapter 14 Aztec Urbanism: Cities and Towns Michael E. Smith Chapter 15 Tenochtitlan José Luis de Rojas Chapter 16 Palaces and Gardens, Intertwined Evolution Susan Toby Evans Chapter 17 Households in the Aztec Empire Kristin De Lucia Part IV. Economic and Social Relations in the Aztec Empire Chapter 18 Aztec Agricultural Strategies: Intensification, Landesque Capital, and the Socio-politics of Production Christopher Morehart Chapter 19 The Structure of Aztec Commerce: Markets and Merchants Kenneth Hirth and Deborah L. Nichols Aztec Manufacturing: Chapter 20 Aztec Use of Lake Resources in the Basin of Mexico John K. Milhauser Chapter 21 Aztec Metallurgy Dorothy Hosler Chapter 22 Aztec Obsidian Industries David M. Carballo and Alejandro Pastrana Chapter 23 Aztec Lapidaries Cynthia Otis Charlton and Alejandro Pastrana Chapter 24 Pottery and the Potter's Craft in the Aztec Heartland Leah D. Minc Chapter 25 Pregnant in the Dancing Place: Myths and Methods of Textile Production and Use Geoffrey McCafferty and Sharisse McCafferty Social Relations Chapter 26 Gender and Aztec Lifecycles Caroline Dodds Pennock Chapter 27 The Human Body in the Mexica Worldview Alfredo López Austin Chapter 28 Nahua Ethnicity James M. Taggert Chapter 29 Inequality and Social Class in Aztec Society Michael E. Smith and Frederic Hicks Part V. Aztec Provinces, Friends, and Foes Chapter 30 Structure of the Aztec Empire Frances F. Berdan Chapter 31 Mexica War: New Research Perspectives Marco A. Cervera Obregón Chapter 32 Aztec Provinces of the Central Highlands Maëlle Sergheraert Chapter 33 Aztec Provinces of the Southern Highlands Gerardo Gutiérrez Chapter 34 Aztec Provinces of the Gulf Lowlands Marcie L. Venter Chapter 35 Tututepec: A Mixtec Imperial Capital in Southern Oaxaca Marc N. Levine Chapter 36 Cholula in Aztec Times Patricia Plunket and Gabriella Uruñuela Chapter 37 The Independent Republic of Tlaxcallan Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton, and Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza Chapter 38 The Tarascan (Purépecha) Empire Anna S. Cohen and Christopher Fisher Chapter 39 Aztec Empire in Comparative Perspective R. Alan Covey and Amanda Aland Part VI. Ritual, Belief, and Religion Chapter 40 Humans and Gods in the Mexica Universe Guilhem Olivier Chapter 41 Aztec Art, Time, and Cosmovisión William Barnes Chapter 42 The Aztec Ritual Landscape Leon Garcia Garagarza Chapter 43 State Ritual and Religion in the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan Alfredo López Austin and Leonardo López Luján Chapter 44 Aztec Domestic Ritual Lisa Overholtzer Part VII. Aztecs After the Conquest Chapter 45 Postconquest Rural Aztec Archaeology Patricia Fournier G. and Cynthia L. Otis Charlton Chapter 46 Postconquest Urban Aztec Archaeology Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría Chapter 47 The Aztecs and the Catholic Church Louise M. Burkhart Chapter 48 Aztec Art After the Conquest in Mexico and in Museums Abroad Ray Hernández Durán Chapter 49 The Aztecs and Their Descendants in the Contemporary World Alan R. Sandstrom

About the Author :
Deborah L. Nichols is the William J. Bryant 1925 Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College and Chair of the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies Programs. She has written nearly 100 articles and co-edited five books and directed numerous archaeological projects in Mexico. She is currently co-director with Wesley Stoner of the Altica research project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and National Geographic Society. Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría is Associate Professor in Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Archaeology and History of Colonial Mexico (Cambridge, 2016), and co-editor of The Menial Art of Cooking (with Sarah Graff, Colorado, 2012). He is currently co-director with Kristin De Lucia of a research project on communal ritual space in Xaltocan, Mexico, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Review :
"This comprehensive treatment, and the substantive nature of the 49 contributions, will stand the test of time, particularly in that it spans seven pivotal themes, including archaeology, historical change, landscapes, economic and social relations, provinces, ritual, belief, religion, and the Aztecs after the Conquest. The impressive range and depth of topics addressed is without parallel in Aztec studies, and clearly speaks to how far this critical area of inquiry has advanced in recent years. ... Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries." --R. G. Mendoza, CHOICE