--Valley of Anahuac, New Year's Eve, 1507. Tenochtitlán, the great island city, capital of the Mexica empire, lies cloaked in darkness. An eerie silence pervades the vast ceremonial center--th... read more

In history, there are innumerable cases of dynasties toppling because of the weakness of incumbents. The incompetence of do-nothing rulers had much to do with the fall of the late Roman Empire. In Fran... read more

"Star Snake" is a short story about a young Aztec warrior and a short history of the rise of the Aztec Empire. It was written by the Austrian writer Martin Auer as part of his collection of "stories of peace" and dedicated to the UNESCO's "Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence."

read more

During our Mexican travels, it was often said to us by veteran travelers to Mexico that one travels to the Baja for the "beaches" and that one goes to mainland Mexico for the "culture". That may be jus... read more

The pre-Hispanic history of Mexico is contained in the numerous pictorial codices or painted hieroglyphic books produced by the Aztecs, the Maya, the Mixtecs, and others. Unfortunately, very few pre-Co... read more

The Internet is an invaluable source of information but it can also be a source of misinformation and great confusion. Recently I was accused of "plagiarizing" some of my material from the Internet. Th... read more

Perhaps no people on earth have been so maligned on the one hand and so highly praised on the other as the ancient Aztecs of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. You don't have to be a Mesoamerican scholar to have he... read more

In Part One we looked at a new interpretation of ancient Aztec literature, which, if correct, calls into question, perhaps even invalidates, much of the previous research. To recapitulate: the current ... read more

The Maya, Aztecs, and other peoples of ancient Mexico had a very strong sense of their own history, which they went to great lengths to preserve. But in some ways, their concept of history differed rad... read more

In previous articles we looked at some Aztec lyric poems contained in the Cantares Mexicanos and other manuscript collections. The current controversy over the correct translation and interpreta... read more

The Spanish returned. With Cuitlahuac, the brother of Moctezuma who had advised against welcoming the Conquistadors, now elected as their king, the Aztecs were confident that any attempted return woul... read more

Quetzalcoatl was coming. Moctezuma had already sent wizards, magicians and seers, to cast spells that would destroy or at least deter the Spaniards from continuing toward his capital. Their failure had... read more

Perhaps the most startling thing revealed by the Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico, is that unknowingly, the Conquistadors had invaded the country at a perfect time. Superstition had produ... read more

An Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico? Preposterous. It is common knowledge that those manuscripts that escaped destruction by the Conquistadors were gathered up under the direction of the first ... read more

I found this novel to be a total winner. In fact, it just kept on getting better and better and I can’t recommend it highly enough. A couple of people described it as "that gory book" when I mentioned I was reading it. Yes, it’s gory, because it describes a society that was rather big on human sacrifice and a people who were rather beastly to neighboring tribes. But they had worthy things going for them, too. They built a wonderful city and produced great artists and created a viable civilization. My hat is off to Gary Jennings. read more

Readers of these reviews may remember that I was a big fan of Jenning’s previous work, Aztec. I gave it my highest accolade – five stars. And here comes the sequel, which is almost as good. The action in this one takes place 12 years after all the goings on in Aztec and concerns the adventures of 18 year old Tenamixtli, the son of Mixtli, the hero of the former novel. Indeed, in the first chapter, Tenamixtli witnesses an execution, a burning at the stake publicly carried out by Spanish troops. Later, he discovers that the executed man was his father. How’s that for getting a story started? As you can imagine, revenge plays a big part in the plot. read more

The good thing about "Mexico" is that Michener has done enormous research in order to write it. read more

As you drive the winding road into town, you catch glimpses of it perched like an eagle's aerie on a ridge of the mountains that ring the valley. The small archaeological site, which overlooks Malinalc... read more

Who hasn’t been amazed by the acrobatic antics of hummingbirds? What stunt flyers! They are able to fly not only forwards, but backwards and even briefly upside-down. They can also hover for extended... read more

Baseball is not the oldest ballgame in the Americas Forget modern "traditions" like the World Series! Forget soccer, tennis and golf! By far the oldest ballgame in the Americas is the little known ga... read more

Mexico's equivalent of the Domesday book was compiled in the sixteenth century. History shows that conquerors often have very little idea of what they have really acquired until it is firmly within th... read more

Mexica/Aztec Calendar Systems The Civil Calendar The solar year was the basis for the civil calendar by which the Mexicas (Aztecs) determined the myriad ceremonies and rituals linked to agricultu... read more

Shortly after arriving at Tenochtitlán in the fall of 1519, Hernán Cortés and the Spanish conquistadores were granted an audience with Moctezuma at his breakfast table. They found the Aztec r... read more

Did you know that one of the highest, most elegant and sumptuous arts of pre-Conquest Mexico was arteplumaria, the art of feather painting? Used to decorate headdresses, standards, staffs, lances,... read more

Mexico is a country of colour, diversity, grand differences in geography, climate and perspective. The same is true of her people. From the mysterious origins and fates of her earliest inhabitants; th... read more