[Aztlan] Aztec/Mexica

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi - 

Once again, I hope that you will bear with me and my stroke damage. 

For me the important questions are first what kind of climate collapse led the Aztec/Mexica to migrate, and from where; and second, what led them to the genocide in the conquests of their neighbors. For me, these are the key questions.

I suppose on the Aztec/Mexica question, one finally has to go with what they called themselves. Were the Aztec "the masters" (los amos) of the Mexica? Or were they a faction of the Mexica that went into war mode? From what I can make out, I suppose that nearly all here agree that for the EMPIRE "Aztec" is the correct term. 

A similar problem faceed me when I wrote "Man and Impact in the Americas". It appeared to me then that those who had worked their glyphs had concluded that the "Olmec" actually were Zoque, and I followed them. Does that identification still hold? (I feel like I may be throwing a match on gasoline with this question.)

On the Popul Vuh, I wonder is there a relationship between Quiche people and the Queche in South America? (see my essay "Going into the Water" online) Pacific coastal water travel was well attested, and at the time the language family of Quiche was unknown. 

In any case, when working with Central Valley traditions you had Teotihaucan overlain by Toltec overlain by Aztec. It has been said that trying to recover history from myth is like trying to eat soup with your hands. My purpose was to recover accounts of comet and asteroid impacts, and the Mayan traditions were sufficiently well preserved for this task.

Right now, I am mainly interested in Haustecan sites on the north east coast. I think that my book may throw some light on the Quetzlcoatl questions, if any of you care to take a look through it. As I gifted copies to major depository libraries, you can read it for free via interlibrary loan.

In closing, I just want to say that whatever its faults I did it as well as I could.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas 
(write me off list for the Aztlan special)