[Aztlan] Mass grave of Aztec warriors uncovered

[Archaeology Institute]

Dear Listeros,

	Given that distinguishing "ethnicity" from among the skeletal vestiges of closely related peoples is highly problemmatic at best, we should be prepared to acknowledge that the mass grave in question very likely constitutes the burial of
Tlaxcaltecan war dead who filled the ranks of the Spanish alliance against the Mexica.  Given the fact that the Tlaxcalteca have been given little credit for the Spanish conquest of the Mexica, I think it likely that the crucial role of the
Tlaxcalteca in the defeat of the Mexica would have given the Spanish cause for such "Christianized" burials...particularly as the Tlaxcalteca had already spent some two years interacting with Cortes and his compatriats prior to the final assault on
Tenochtitlan.  On another note, as one other Listero has noted, the term Aztec is a misnomer, and the term Mexica is in fact the term noted by early chroniclers.  Perhaps one day we will opt for the latter term instead of that coined by late 18th
and early 19th century naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt...i.e., Aztec = Aztlan or Aztlaneca.

Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

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