[Aztlan] PRE-COLUMBIAN SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON DC SYMPOSIUM; POWER AND POLITICS IN THE LATE AZTEC PERIOD

[michael ruggeri]

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.