Power and Politics in the Late Aztec Period, Wash. DC

[John F. Schwaller]

Power and Politics in the Late Aztec Period

A one-day symposium

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Please join the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. as we
explore manifestations of Aztec power and politics in one of the New
World’s most powerful and complex empires.

Titles (and Abstracts Received)

1.Trade, Tribute and Markets in the Aztec Imperial World

Speaker—Dr. Frances Berdan, University of California/San Bernardino

“The Aztec empire experienced a brief but flamboyant history, lasting
only from 1428 until its conquest by the Spaniards in 1521. During
that brief time, life under Aztec rule saw haughty professional
merchants traveling long distances with their luxurious wares,
conquered city-states paying large quantities of tribute to their
conquerors, and bustling marketplaces offering virtually every
commodity available within (and beyond) the imperial boundaries. In
this setting, many luxury goods advertised political power and social
status during occasions of public display and by serving as
ceremonial offerings. This presentation explores the political and
social world of luxuries such as decorated cotton clothing, previous
stone and feather ornaments, feathered warrior costumes and cacao. It
highlights the political and social connection of these preciosities
as they moved from hand to hand in the intricate Aztec economy:
professional merchants were agents of the state as well as private
entrepreneurs, and their occasional associations sparked wars;
tribute payments symbolized subservience; and busy marketplaces were
signs of economic prosperity and political importance.”

2.Aztec Imperial Strategies from the Bottom Up: A View from the
Pictorial Histories

Speaker—Dr. Lori Diel, Texas Christian University

Abstract pending.

3.Aztec Militarism

Speaker—Dr. John Pohl, Fowler Museum of UCLA

“According to one popular image, the Aztec army was a ruthless and
efficient war machine that established an empire by convincingly
overwhelming its neighbors, sacrificing thousands to bloodthirsty
gods along the way. The reality shows that Aztec warfare was much
richer and far more complex than previously understood. The
presentation will reveal a close relationship between economic and
social matters in Aztec society, as well as the religious, by
comparing and contrasting the empire’s motivations with those of
their principal opponents, a confederacy dominated by the Eastern
Nahua, Mixtec and Zapotec peoples of southern Mexico.”

4.Architecture, Power, and Kingship at Aztec Cities outside Tenochtitlan

Speaker—Dr. Michael Smith, Arizona State University

“Most Aztec cities were founded in the twelfth century in the wake of
the Aztlan migrations. Although they were relatively small cities
compared to Tenochtitlan, their role as capitals of city-states gave
them political prominence in the central Mexican social landscape.
Kings designed and constructed the public buildings in these cities
in order to project messages about power, control, legitimacy, and
sacredness. These messages originated in both the individual
buildings (temples, ball courts, platforms, and palaces), and in
their planned layout within urban epicenters. I explore the various
levels of meaning of Aztec architecture, including sacred symbolism,
political ideology, references to the Toltec past and visual impact
on people in the urban center. The architectural and political
patterns of city-state capitals were later adopted by the Mexica
kings, who transformed Tenochtitlan into the thriving imperial
capital seen by the invading Spaniards.”


5.The Great Mountain Shrines of Tetzcotzingo and Mt. Tlaloc

Speaker—Dr. Richard Townsend, Art Institute of Chicago

“Individual leadership and initiative has ever been a determining
force in collective human endeavors. The formation of the Aztec
empire is rich in examples of dynamic rulers who creatively developed
unifying projects during the 15th century. This illustrated lecture
will review the design and functions of major ritual centers upon Mt.
Tetzcotzingo and Mt. Tlaloc, symbolically claiming the land and the
memory of those who were there long before, while uniting fractious
domains in shared ritual to ensure annual rains, the fertility of the
soil, the abundance of crops, and the prosperity of the community
from year to year.”

6.Monuments, Omens, and Historical Thought: the Transition from
Ahuitzotl to Motecuhzoma II.

Speaker—Dr. Emily Umberger, Arizona State University

Abstract pending.





-- 
John F. Schwaller
President,
SUNY Potsdam
44 Pierrepont Ave.
Potsdam, NY  13676
schwallr at potsdam.edu


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