Topic 1: Tenochtitlan

TENOCHTITLAN

"Murales Rivera - Markt in Tlatelolco 3" by Wolfgang Sauber - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Murales_Rivera_-_Markt_in_Tlatelolco_3.jpg#/media/File:Murales_Rivera_-_Markt_in_Tlatelolco_3.jpg

This week we will be exploring Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.  The picture above is part of the muralist Diego Rivera's Market of Tlatelolco masterpiece.  Note the causeway connecting the two islands.  We are looking at the central district, which is now downtown Mexico City. The Templo Mayor dominates the district.  If you visit Mexico City today, you can tour the ruins of the temple and look at the walls of the great cathedral, which was built by removing stones from the Templo Mayor. Note the proximity of the cathedral to the ruins of the temple in the first image below.

Interesting Live Science story on Tenochtitlan

By BekaHari (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], 
via Wikimedia Commons

"Catedral de México". Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catedral_de_M%C3%A9xico.jpg#/media/
File:Catedral_de_M%C3%A9xico.jpg

Think About It:  Pause to consider this contestation of space. The temple of Dios (the Christian god) is built by destroying the twin temple of Huitzilopochtli (god of war) and Tlaloc (god of rain). How do you think the Spanish Christian missionaries use the destruction of the Templo Mayor as propaganda in their conversion of the Nahuas?

So how do we know about the history of Tenochtitlan? Historians and Ethno-archaeologists will use a combination of resources including accounts of the empire commissioned by the conquering Spaniards (like the Codex Mendoza and the Florentine Codex), accounts from the conquistadors (such as that of Bernal Diaz), and archaeology.  Peruse the links below links to familiarize yourself with these tools and resources.

You may ask why there are no Aztec primary documentary sources from before the conquest.  The answer is very simple, and unfortunately very common in history, conquerors wanting to control history and thought/belief for their own purposes.  Aztec emperors destroyed codices of previous polities to rewrite political history in their favor and to legitimize their rule.  The Spaniards burned all of the rest because of the references to a "pagan" religion while imposing their own on a conquered populace. Pay close attention to the scene of the destruction of codices when you watch La Otra Conquista in Unit 2. This will give you insight into the name of the film ("the other conquest")?

The Codex Mendoza

The Florentine Codex

Bernal Diaz

Under Mexico City


THINKING HISTORICALLY: Historians use primary sources in crafting their histories.  In this course, you are all junior historians and you need to consider what all primary sources tell you.  Considering the documents above, what are the advantages of each source?  What are the problems with each source?  How would you use these sources to conduct research on Tenochtitlan?