Mexico's Wondrous Linguistic Diversity: Mexico and the U.S. should make May 21st a Federal Holiday that Celebrates Diversity

Friends,

Building off of yesterday's blog post, I mention again that Nahuatl itself is spoken by at least 1.6 million people in Mexico (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 2020).

Let’s also celebrate, rather than punish, diversity. After all, diversity is not just a source of strength and creativity—it is a vital safeguard against the erosion of our shared humanity and our still-young democracy.​

Let’s celebrate—not punish—diversity. It’s not only a source of strength and creativity, but a crucial defense against threats to our shared humanity and still-young democracy.

In Texas, recent legislation has targeted DEI programs in public institutions. Governor Abbott has banned DEI offices in higher education and is pushing for similar bans in K–12, claiming they create division. These moves reflect a broader rollback of efforts to support our communities’ diverse backgrounds.

In contrast, Mexico embraces its cultural diversity, recognizing over 68 national languages and 364 language variants—one of the world’s most linguistically rich landscapes. Its commitment to preservation highlights how diversity can be a national asset.

For more on this, check out the 2024 article, "How Many Indigenous Languages are Spoken in Mexico?" Also, see a 2024 piece in Datahub Central Indigenous People In Mexico for more information.

On a related matter, UNESCO's World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is coming up on May 21. Our nations, including the U.S. should make May 21st a federal holiday that celebrates diversity. Mexico could, as well. Why not? Órale, let's start a campaign on both sides of the border.

May all have a wonderful day and weekend!

-Angela Valenzuela

POWERFUL TEXT FOR THESE TIMES: The Broken Spears (La Visión de lo Vencidos) by Miguel Leon Portilla

Friends,

I encourage everyone to read the truly magisterial text published in 1959 by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Dr. Miguel León-Portilla. Originally compiled from texts written in Nahuatl and translated into Spanish before being rendered into English by Lysander Kemp, this work provides invaluable insight into the Indigenous perspective on the Spanish conquest. The illustrations in the text, adapted from original paintings found in authentic codices, were created by Alberto Beltrán.

A crucial clarification: Dr. Miguel León-Portilla (February 22, 1926 – October 1, 2019) did not write The Broken Spears himself, aside from his introduction. Instead, this text is a meticulously compiled historical record that preserves firsthand Indigenous accounts written in the aftermath of the Spanish invasion of Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City. It's chock full of lessons for today—like right now with the dismantling of our own government institutions and processes.

The Broken Spears draws on evidence from codices and other writings, including formal pleas to King Philip of Spain, imploring his mercy in light of the devastation and trauma suffered by the Aztecs, or Mexica [pronounced me-chí-ca], following the Spanish-led invasion and the ultimate fall of Tenochtitlán in 1521. These accounts acknowledge the complexity of Indigenous responses to the Spanish presence—some groups aligned with Hernán Cortés, believing they were securing their own futures, only to have their trust cruelly betrayed by the invaders.

I sympathize with those who sought peace, for among the Mexica were true peacemakers who hoped for a harmonious coexistence. Yet their choices had lasting, unintended consequences, as is evident from the sorrowful and tragic letters to King Philip. The Indigenous peoples were divided, and some found elements of Christian teachings resonant with their own worship of the Sun God, making conversion to Christianity less alien than commonly assumed.

This text offers an unflinching and vivid portrayal of the fall of Tenochtitlán, immersing readers in the catastrophe as if it had happened yesterday. The narrative is gripping, haunting, and profoundly moving. Even after reading Dr. León-Portilla’s introduction—which is fascinating in its own right—one cannot help but be drawn deeply into the Indigenous testimonies. I highly recommend the audiobook version, which powerfully conveys the intensity of the events described.

Without a doubt, despite his extensive scholarship, The Broken Spears stands as Dr. León-Portilla’s most significant and enduring contribution. He was one of Mexico’s greatest anthropological minds, and La Visión de los Vencidos (the Spanish title of The Broken Spears) remains a groundbreaking work in the study of Indigenous perspectives on the conquest. It gives voice to the Nahuatl people, who perhaps foresaw that future generations would read their words and bear witness to their suffering and resilience. How prescient and thoughtful our ancestors were.

What I additionally find fascinating is it captures a moment in world history before the concept of race or racism existed, but rather ethnicity, including among the "Tenoch" peoples themselves and beyond. 

I look forward to a reading group we have formed that is dedicated to discussing this essential text, and I encourage all of you to read it as well. For ease of reference, I have included a video of Dr. León-Portilla speaking about The Broken Spears, as well as a Wikipedia entry on Miguel León-Portilla. 

Angela Valenzuela

Wikipedia, Miguel León-Portilla 

Miguel León-Portilla (22 February 1926 – 1 October 2019)[1] was a Mexican anthropologist and historian, specializing in Aztec culture and literature of the pre-Columbian and colonial eras. Many of his works were translated to English and he was a well-recognized scholar internationally. In 2013, the Library of Congress of the United States bestowed on him the Living Legend Award.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Mexico City, Miguel León-Portilla had an interest in indigenous Mexico from an early age, fostered by his uncle Manuel Gamio, a distinguished archeologist. Gamio had a lasting influence on his life and career, initially taking him as a boy on trips to important archeological sites in Mexico and later as well.[3] León-Portilla attended the Instituto de Ciencias in Guadalajara and then earned a B.A. (1948) and M.A. summa cum laude (1951) at the Jesuit Loyola University in Los Angeles. Returning to Mexico in 1952, he showed Gamio a play he had written on Quetzalcoatl, which resulted in Gamio introducing his nephew to Ángel Garibay K., whose publications in the 1930s and 1940s first brought Nahuatl literature to widespread public attention in Mexico. Needing to make a living, León-Portilla began attending law school and worked at a financial firm. At the same time he taught at Mexico City College, an English-language school in the Condesa neighborhood. Other instructors included important scholars of Mexican indigenous history and culture, Wigberto Jiménez Moreno, Fernando Horcasitas, and Eduardo Noguera. Gamio persuaded León-Portilla to drop his law studies and job in business to work at the Inter-American Indian Institute [es; pt], a specialized organization of the Organization of American States,[4] which Gamio directed.[5] León-Portilla began graduate studies at the UNAM, completing his doctoral dissertation, La Filosofía Náhuatl estudiada en sus fuentes, in 1956, which launched his scholarly career.[6]

Career[edit]

His dissertation on Nahua philosophy was published in Mexico, and then translated to English as Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind (1967) and then many other languages.[7] It was the first of his many works to be translated to English. His translations of Nahuatl and Spanish texts on the conquest of Mexico, first published in Mexico as Visión de los vencidos, translated to English as The Broken Spears, is the way many undergraduate students in the United States are introduced to accounts from indigenous participants and not Spanish conquistadors.[8]

León-Portilla spearheaded a movement to understand and re-evaluate Nahuatl literature and religion, not only from the pre-Columbian era, but also that of the present day, especially since Nahuatl is still spoken by 1.5 million people.[2] His works in English on literature included Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico (1986),[9] Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World (2000),[10] and with Earl Shorris, In the Language of Kings: An Anthology of Mesoamerican Literature, Pre-Columbian to the Present (2002).[11] He also compared the literature of the Nahuas with that of the Inca.[12] Another area of research was on indigenous religion and spirituality, with works including Native Meso-American Spirituality (1980),[13] and South and Meso-American Native Spirituality: From the Cult of the Feathered Serpent to the Theology of Liberation (1997).[14] He also published a work on the Maya, Time and Reality in the Thought of the Maya (1990).[15]

León-Portilla was instrumental in bringing to light the works of Franciscan Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, a 16th-century primary source on the Aztec civilization, whose twelve-volume General History of the Things of New Spain, often referred to as the Florentine Codex, are crucial for understanding Nahua religion, society, and culture, as well as for providing an account of the conquest of Mexico from the Mexica viewpoint. León-Portilla was the first to denote Sahagún as the "Father of Anthropology in the New World".[16]

He contributed to the understanding of the development of the field of Mesoamerican history in Mexico. With Garibay, León-Portilla made contributions to the study of nineteenth-century Mesoamerican historian Manuel Orozco y Berra.[17][18] León-Portilla also published two volumes on the work of Mesoamerican humanists, including his mentor Garibay.[19]

In the field of colonial Nahuatl studies, particularly the New Philology, León-Portilla's work on a collection of late sixteenth-century wills in Nahuatl, The Testaments of Culhuacan, contributed to the understanding of local-level interactions within a Nahua town.[20][21]

A subordinate but important interest of León-Portilla was the early history and ethnography of the Baja California Peninsula. He addressed this region in more than 30 books and articles, including a 1995 volume collecting several of his earlier publications.[22]

Early in his academic career in 1969, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[23] That was the first of many academic awards and recognitions, including the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor, the highest award bestowed by the Mexican Senate. In 1970, he was elected to membership of Mexico's National College[24] and, in 1995, to membership of the United States National Academy of Sciences.[25] From 1987 to 1992, he served as his country's permanent delegate to UNESCO, during which time he successfully nominated five pre-Columbian sites in Mexico for inclusion on the World Heritage List.[26] On 12 December 2013, León-Portilla received the Living Legend Award from the U.S. Library of Congress.[2] He was also a member of the Mexican Academy of Language and the Mexican Academy of History.[27]

Personal life[edit]

León-Portilla married Ascensión Hernández Triviño, a Spanish linguist and academic, in 1965. Their daughter, Marisa León-Portilla, is also a historian.[28]

León-Portilla died in Mexico City on 1 October 2019 after having been hospitalized for much of the year.[29] The federal Secretariat of Culture announced that his body would lie in state on 3 October 2019 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.[29]

Notable works[edit]

From Náhuatl to Guaraní: 5 Apps to Help You Learn Indigenous Languages

While no app can fully teach anyone any language, it's clear that apps like these can be helpful.  That disclaimer aside, it's cool just to have an app for some Indigenous tongues.

Thanks to Dr. Emma Mancha-Sumners for sharing.

-Angela

Written by Remezcla Estaff | 2 years ago
 

Some of us feel that speaking Spanish or Portuguese is an important marker of Latinidad. But with millions of people speaking indigenous languages in Latin America, we know this is far from the truth. Spanish is, of course, one thing that unites most of Latin America together, but it’s a language that was imposed on us. It’s one reason some Mexican writers have rejected Spanish to write in indigenous languages. For those of us who are interested in learning indigenous languages, technology has become a lifeline.
Several apps have sprung over the last few years to help us learn indigenous languages of Latin America. If you’re looking to take on a new language, here are a few apps you should check out:

1

Vamos a aprender náhuatl

Kernaia, a company intent on creating “an ecosystem of digital content for indigenous languages,” launched the Vamos a aprender náhuatl app for those interested in learning the Náhuatl spoken in Acatlan, Guerrero. Not unlike DuoLingo, the app – which is in Spanish and Náhuatl – features a glossary and quizzes to help users retain their lessons. What users won’t find is the language’s writing system. In the mid-1500s, Náhuatl faced extinction when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire. Spaniards intended for their language to supplant Náhult.
The app is available on iOS and Android. Learn more here.

2

Habla Quechua

Quechua’s one of the most widely spoken indigenous language in the Americas. PromPerú developed the Habla Quechua app “with the aim of inspiring Peruvian citizens and foreigners to use and take an interest in the Quechua language.” The app – which is available to English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish speakers – features quizzes and a live translator feature.
The app is available on iOS and Android.

3

Eentsi (Ashaninka)

Though this app is geared toward children, it’s a great tool to begin familiarizing yourself with a new language. Created by Instituto de Investigación de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), Eentsi aims to teach you basic sounds and words in Ashaninka.
The app is available on Android. IIAP has created more apps to help you learn other indigenous languages spoken in the Amazon.

4

Vamos a aprender purépecha

Kernaia has other language-learning apps, including one for Purépecha and Mixteco. The Purépecha app aims to teach users more than just words; it wants to also show them how an indigenous community in Michoacan is maintaining its traditions as the world changes.
The app is available on iOS and Android. Learn more here.

5

DuoLingo

DuoLingo offers courses in more than 20 languages, including the Jopará dialect of Guaraní, which is spoken in Paraguay. The app offers quizzes and immediate grading.
DuoLingo is available on iOS and Android. Learn more here.

AZTEC BIBLIOGRAPHY by Dorinda Moreno

I am happy to re-post this Aztec Bibliography that I received from Chicana activist and writer Dorinda Moreno close to a decade ago.  It provides a list of primary and secondary sources.  I am interested in other bibliographies that provide additional sources, either primary of secondary, if anyone has one that they can share.  

I would be happy to post bibliographies of any other indigenous community, too.

The more common self-referent, by the way, is "Mexica," rather than "Aztec."  Mexico and Mexicans get their name from the Nahuatl-speaking Mexica.  And Nahuatl, like the Mexica people, is a language that is very much alive today. From a September 11, 2018 post to this blog:

According to Mexico's census bureau, Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Geografía (INEGI), in 2015,  25,694,928 people in Mexico, or 21.5% of Mexico's population, self-identified as indigenous, with well over 1.5 million speakers of Nahuatl, the language of the Mexicas, alone.  

Increasing numbers today live in the  U.S., as well.  It's really neat to read and learn about how very much our ancestors valued education; they read poetry and studied the classics of their own time.  They had schools and universities, even as parents and families, alongside communities (kalpullis, meaning coalitions of houses), always were recognized as their children's first teacher.  Respecting parents and elders and living a disciplined life and working hard and giving back to the community were core, fundamental values that helped you to live a good life and live peacefully in community and society,.

I have actually posted a number of items on Nahuatl and the Mexica to my blog over the years that you can peruse yourself here.  It's fun for me to re-read these items and to appreciate anew the value of having a blog. 😊

As we study, develop curriculum, engage in culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies, and otherwise reconnect to our roots on this continent as the descendants of native peoples, such sources aid in the recovery of that history, knowledge, and culture that not surprisingly, resonate strongly with these same values to which we adhere today. 

Moreover, this process of recovery is so incredibly redemptive and healing of ourselves as individuals, communities, and of the planet, our Earth Mother.

We all need to build up our own personal libraries and secure these and other readings that intellectually stimulate our imaginations and deepen our sense of relatedness and being.

Many thanks again to Dorinda Moreno, for making this available.  

-Angela Valenzuela

Mexica or Aztec Teacher with his students.  Source:
https://tinyurl.com/y5n78cz

Aztec Bibliography

Primary Sources

Anonymous Conqueror; Marshall H. Saville, Trans. A Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan MexicoTaxus Baccata Books: 2004. Reprint of 1917 translation with illustrations from 1556 edition, finally back in print for only $12.95!!

Anderson, Arthur J. O.; Charles E. Dibble. Florentine Codex, Second Edition Revised, in Thirteen Parts (13 Volumes). School of American Research & University of Utah: 1970/1978. F/None

Carvajal, Luis de, el Mozo. Seymour B. Liebman (translator & editor). The Enlightened. University of Miami: 1967. VG/No (The only extant text by a Jew in the Colonial period.)

Columbus, Christopher; Cecil Jane (translator). The Journal of Christopher Columbus. Bramhall House: 1960. VG/VG.

Cortes, Hernan. Irwin R. Blacker (intro & commentaries); Harry M. Rosen (editor). Conquest: Dispatches of Cortes from the New World. Grosset & Dunlap: 1962. TP-G

Cortes, Hernan. J Bayard Morris (translator & ed.). The Letters of Hernando Cortez 1519-1526 (The Argonaut Series). Robert M. McBride: 1929. VG/G (water staining to DJ)

de Landa, Diego; A. R. Pagden (translator). The Maya: Diego de Landa's Account of the Affairs of Yucatan. J. Philip O'Hara: 1975. (Mayan.) VG/VG

de Oviedo, Gonzalo Fernandez; Sterling A. Stoudemire (translator). Natural History of the West Indies (University of North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures, No. 32) University of North Carolina Press: 1959. TP/VG

Diaz, Bernal del Castillo. Genaro Garcia (editor), A. P. Maudslay (translator.) The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico 1517-1521. Farrar, Straus, and Cudahy: 1956. VG/No

Also have by Maudsaly & Garcia:TP "The True History of the Conquest of New Spain." And, Hakluyt Society: 1908. Five volumes, illustrated, one volume is box of maps. Ex-libris of Edward Lynam, map collector/editor, one-time secretary of Hakluyt Soc., British Museum curator (?), etc. VG (This is third copy, so one of others must go.)

Diaz, Bernal; J. M. Cohen (translator). The Conquest of New Spain. Penguin: 1963. TP-VG.

Duran, Fray Diego; Doris Heyden & Fernando Horcasitas (translators). The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain. Orion Press: 1964. VG/No

Also have:Univ. Oklahoma: 1994 (this includes all the original illustrations, complete text. The 1964 edition was a popular version, and so did not. This is a scholarly one, and also includes annotations, intro, etc.)

Duran, Fray Diego; translated & edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden. Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar. University of Oklahoma: 1973. TP-VG

Glubok, Shirley; Leslie Tillett. The Fall of the Aztecs: Illustrations by the Conquered, Text by the Conquerors. (Based on Bernal Diaz.) VG/No

Knab, T. J. (editor); Thelma D. Sullivan (translator.) A Scattering of Jades: Stories, Poems, and Prayers of the Aztecs. Simon & Schuster: 1994. TP-F

Las Casas, Bartolome de; edited & translated by Nigel Griffin. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin: 1992. TP-F

Leon-Portilla, Miguel. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Beacon Press: 1962. TP-VG

Leon-Portilla, Miguel. Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico. University of Oklahoma: 1969. (Leon-Portilla has a lot of his own text in here, but about half of the book is composed of pre-columbian writings.) VG/VG

Ross, Kurt (ed.) Codex Mendoza: Aztec Manuscript. Miller Graphics: 1978. Color reproductions of all full pages of this codex, as well as many close-ups. Includes some translations of the Spanish written on the codex. VG/VG

Vespucci, Amerigo; Luciano Formissano (editor); David Jacobson (translator.) Letters from a New World: Amerigo Vespucci’s Discovery of America. Marsilio: 1992. (Unrelated to Aztecs.) F/VG

Zorita, Alonso de; Benjamin Keen (translator). Life and Labor in Ancient Mexico: The Brief and Summary Relation of the Lords of New Spain. Rutgers University: 1963. F/VG

The Aztecs

Adams, Richard E. W. Prehistoric Mesoamerica, Revised Edition. University of Oklahoma: 1991. F/F. Take to store?

Anawalt, Patricia Rieff. Indian Clothing Before Cortes: Mesoamerican Costumes from the Codices. University of Oklahoma Press: 1990. TP-VG.

Benson, Elizabeth P. & Elizabeth Hill Boone, editor. The Art and Iconography of Late Post-Classic Central Mexico: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks October 22nd and 23rd, 1977. Dumbarton Oaks: 1982. F/None

Berdan, Frances F. The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society. Holt, Rinehart & Winston: 1982. TP-G. (dry but good sociological overview, good use of Nahuatl.)

Berlo, Janet Catherine. Art, Ideology and the City of Teotihuacan: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 8th and 9th October 1988. Dumbarton Oaks: 1992. F/None

Bernal, Ignacio; translated by Willis Barnstone. Mexico Before Cortez: Art, History and Legend, Revised Edition. Anchor: 1975. MM-G

Berrin, Kathleen; Clara Millon, Rene Millon, Esther Pasztory, Thomas K. Seligman. Feathered Serpents and Flowering Trees: Reconstructing the Murals of Teotihuacan. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco: 1988. Interesting account relating that the "official" discovery of these murals was prompted by looted pieces of them all of a sudden showing up in auctions. VG/none/signed

Blanton, Richard E.; Stephen A. Kowalewski; Gary Feinman; Jill Appel. Ancient Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Change in Three Regions. Cambridge University: 1981. TP-F Second edition, 1993. TP-G (very well done, with excellent bibliography.)

Boone, Elizabeth Hill. The Aztec Templo Mayor: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 8th and 9th October 1983. Dumbarton Oaks: 1987. F/none

Bray, Warwick. Everyday Life of the Aztecs. Dorset Press: 1968. F/F

Broda, Johanna; David Carrasco; Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan: Center and Periphery in the Aztec World. University of California: 1987. TP-VG

Brundage, Burr Cartwright. The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World. University of Texas: 1979. VG/G

Carrasco, David. City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization. Beacon Press: 1999. F/F

Carrasco, David. Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition. University of Chicago: 1992. TP-VG

Carrasco, David. The Tenochca Empire of Ancient Mexico: The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. University of Oklahoma: 1999.

Caso, Alfonso. Illustrated by Miguel Covarrubias; Lowell Dunham (tranlsator.) The Aztecs: People of the Sun. University of Oklahoma: 1958. VG/VG

Clendinnen, Inga. Aztecs: An Interpretation. Cambridge University: 1991. BCE? VG/VG. (One of my favorites, has very lucid descriptions of life with some fresh & believable interpretations.)

Coe, Michael D Mexico, Third Edition. Thames & Hudson:1984. TP-G

Covarrubias, Miguel. Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Alfred A. Knopf: 1946. VG/VG 1st ed.

Davies, Nigel. The Aztec Empire: The Toltec Resurgence. University of Oklahoma: 1987. F/F

Davies, Nigel. The Aztecs: A History. University of Oklahoma: 1980. TP-VG

Davies, Nigel. The Toltec Heritage: From the Fall of Tula to the Rise of Tenochtitlan. University of Oklahoma: 1980. F/VG

Driver, Harold E. The Americas on the Eve of Discovery. Prentice-Hall: 1964. TP-G.

Enciso, Jorge. Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico. Dover: 1947. TP-VG

Fastlicht, Samuel; Javier Romero. El Arte de las Mutilaciones Dentarias (Encyclopedia Mexicana de Arte #14). Ediciones Mexicanas: 1951. TP-VG

Furst, Jill Leslie McKeever. The Natural History of the Soul in Ancient Mexico Yale University: 1995. TP-F

Gillespie, Susan D. The Aztec Kings: The Construction of Rulership in Mexica History. University of Arizona: 1989. TP-F

Gillmor, Frances. Flute of the Smoking Mirror: A Portrait of Nezahualcoyotl, Poet-King of the Aztecs. University of Utah: 1949. TP-VG

Gillmor, Frances. The King Danced in the Marketplace. University of Utah: 1964. TP-VG

Hardoy, Jorge. Urban Planning in Pre-Columbian America. George Braziller: 1968. VG/no (Short monograph, but lots of excellent photos & drawings.)

Harvey, H. R. Land and Politics in the Valley of Mexico: A Two Thousand Year Perspective. University of New Mexico: 1991. F/No

Hassig, Ross. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. University of Oklahoma: 1988. F/VG

Hassig, Ross. Time, History, and Belief in Aztec and Colonial Mexico. University of Texas: 2001. TP-F

Hassig, Ross. Trade, Tribute, and Transportation: The Sixteenth-Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico. University of Oklahoma: 1985. F/F

Hassig, Ross. War and Society in Ancient America. University of California: 1992. F/VG

Horcasitas, Fernando. The Aztecs Then and Now. Minutiae Mexicana: 1979. TP-G

Keen, Benjamin. The Aztec Image in Western Thought. Rutgers University: 1990. TP-VG

Leon-Portilla, Miguel. The Aztec Image of Self and Society : An Introduction to Nahua Culture. University of Utah: 1992. VG/VG

Leon-Portilla, Miguel. Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind. University of Oklahoma: 1963. VG/VG

Lopez, Angel Raul. El Numero 13 en la Vida de los Aztecas. Costa-Amic: 1984. TP-VG

Millon, Rene. The Teotihuacan Map (Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Volume 1). University of Texas: 1973. VG. Two parts, the second being a volume of bound maps with clear plastic overlays, and with a box of folded maps attached to the rear board.

Moctezuma, Eduardo Matos. The Great Temple of the Aztecs: Treasures of Tenochtitlan. Thames & Hudson: 1988. F/VG

Parsons, Jeffrey R.; Elizabeth Brumfiel; Mary H. Parsons; David J. Wilson; et al. Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Southern Valley of Mexico: The Chalco-Xochimilco Region. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology: 1982. TP-VG

Peterson, Frederick. Ancient Mexico: An Introduction to the Pre-Hispanic Cultures. Capricorn: 1959. TP-G

Pohl, John M. D.; Angus McBride. Aztec, Mixtec and Zapotec Armies. Osprey: 1991. F

Powell, Guy E. Latest Aztec Discoveries. San Antonio: Naylor Co., 1967. VG/G. (Probably better shelved in fiction, as author appears to have discovered Aztlan in his backyard. Nevertheless... it does have map endpapers! Road trip!)

Schroeder, Susan. Chimalpahin and the Kingdoms of Chalco. University of Arizona: 1991. VG/No

Sejourne, Laurette. Burning Water: Thought and Religion in Ancient Mexico. Shambala: 1976. TP-VG

Soustelle, Jacques. Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest. Stanford: 1955/1961. TP-Fair.

Townsend, Richard F. The Aztecs, Revised Edition. Thames & Hudson: 2000. TP-F

Vaillant, George C. Artists and Craftsmen in Ancient Central America. American Museum of Natural History: 1945. TP-G

Vaillant, George C. Aztecs of Mexico: Origin, Rise and Fall of the Aztec Nation. American Museum of Natural History/Doubleday: 1950. VG/VG

Von Hagen, Victor W. The Aztec: Man and Tribe. Mentor: 1958. MM-VG

Von Hagen, Victor W. The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas: Aztec, Maya, Inca. World Publishing: 1961. VG/VG

Wauchope, Robert (general editor). Handbook of Middle American Indians (sixteen volumes plus supplements). University of Texas: 1964-1976, plus supplements. VG/G

Willey, Gordon R.; Jeremy A. Sabloff (introductions). Pre-Columbian Archaeology (Readings from Scientific American.) W. H. Freeman: 1980. TP-VG

Wolf, Eric. Sons of the Shaking Earth: The People of Mexico and Guartemala: Their Land, History, and Culture. University of Chicago: 1959. TP-VG (Covers prehistory through Colonial period.)

Wolf, Eric R. (editor). The Valley of Mexico: Studies in Pre-Hispanic Ecology and Society. University of New Mexico: 1976. F/G

The Conquest and Conquistadors

Christensen, Thomas & Carol (editors.) The Discovery of America & Other Myths: A New World Reader. Chronicle Books: 1992. TP-VG (Some very good essays.)

Day, Jane S.; foreword by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. Aztec: The World of Moctezuma. Denver Museum of Natural History/Roberts Rinehart: 1992. Published in conjunction with exhibition, but not a catalogue per se. TP-VG

Eidsmoe, John. Columbus and Cortez, Conquerors for Christ. New Leaf Press: 1992. TP-VG. (poorly researched, hypocritical, but does remind us that Cortez was devout Catholic.)

Hanke, Lewis. The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America. Little, Brown: 1949/1965. TP-VG (excellent overview of legalistic concerns of Spaniards.)

Hassig, Ross. Mexico and the Spanish Conquest (Modern Wars in Perspective series). Longman: 1994. TP-VG

Horgan, Paul. Conquistadors in North American History. Fawcett: 1963. MM-VG

Padden, R. C. The Hummingbird and the Hawk: Conquest and Sovereignty in the Valley of Mexico, 1503-1541. Harper: 1967. TP-G

Pohl, John; Charles M. Robinson III. Aztecs & Conquistadores: The Spanish Invasion and the Collapse of the Aztec Empire. Osprey: 2005. F/F. (Light reading except for good military details.)

Prescott, William H. The Conquest of Mexico & The Conquest of Peru. Modern Library. VG/G

Stannard, David E. American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World. Oxford University: 1992. TP-VG

Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. Simon & Schuster: 1993. TP-VG

Thomas, Hugh. Who's Who of the Conquistadors. Cassell & Co.: 2000. F/F

Todorov, Tzvetan; Richard Howard (translator). The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. Harper & Row: 1987. TP-G. (Perhaps the best interpretation I’ve read.)

Verrill, A. Hyatt. Great Conquerors of South and Central America. New Home Library: 1943. V/V (Dated, but good teen intro.)

Warren, J. Benedict. The Conquest of Michoacan: The Spanish Domination of the Tarascan Kingdom in Western Mexico, 1521-1530. University of Oklahoma: 1985. F/F

White, Jon Manchip. Cortes and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire: A Study in a Conflict of Cultures. Hamish Hamilton: 1971. HC-VG/no.

Wise, Terence; Angus McBride. The Conquistadors.

Miscellaneous Stuff (Colonial, Travelogues, Olmecs, Peopling of Americas, General Mesoamerican Interest)

Adams, Richard E. W. Prehistoric Mesoamerica. Little, Brown: 1977. VG/No.

Benson, Elizabeth P., editor. Death and the Afterlife in Pre-Columbian America: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks October 27th, 1973. Dumbarton Oaks: 1975. F/None

Benson, Elizabeth P., editor. Mesoamerican Writing Systems: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks October 30th and 31st, 1971. Dumbarton Oaks: 1973. F/None

Benson, Elizabeth P., editor. The Sea in the Pre-Columbian World: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks October 26th and 27th, 1974. Dumbarton Oaks: 1977. F/None

Bernal, Ignacio. 100 Great Masterpieces of the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology. Harry N. Abrams: 1969. VG/G

Bernal, Ignacio. The Olmec World. University of California: 1976. TP-VG.

Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of Mexico and Central America. William Morrow: 1990. F/F (remainder)

Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Painted Architecture and Polychrome Monumental Sculpture in Mesoamerica: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 10th to 11th October 1981. Dumbarton Oaks: 1985. F/None

Boone, Elizabeth Hill; Tom Cummins. Native Traditions in the Postconquest World: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 2nd through 4th October 1992. Dumbarton Oaks: 1997. F/None

Butler, John W. Sketches of Mexico. Cincinnati: Cranston & Curts, 1894. VG/None. Son of missionary. Interesting history of Mexican race, as Butler lists several theories of the peopling of the Americas, including 6 theories that they originated from Europe, 4 theories of African origin (including Atlantis which theory is dealt with at length), and "at least six" theories of Asiatic origin.

Cervantes, Fernando. The Devil in the New World: The Impact of Diabolism in New Spain.

Clendinnen, Inga. Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570. Cambridge University: 1987. TP-VG

Coe, Michael D. Archaeological Mexico: A Traveler's Guide to Ancient Cities and Sacred Sites. Moon Travel Handbooks: 1998. TP-F

Coe, Michael D.; David Grove; Elizabeth Benson (editor & organizers). The Olmec and their Neighbors: Essays in Memory of Matthew W. Stirling. Dumbarton Oaks: 1981. F/None

Coe, Michael D.; David Grove; Elizabeth Benson (editor & organizers). In the Land of the Olmec. Vol. I: The Archaeology of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan; Vol. II: The People of the River University of Texas: 1980. F/VG Slipcase with F folder containing four maps

Dossio, Francisco Gonzales de. Cronicas de la Compania de Jesus en la Nueva Espana. La Universidad Nacional Autonoma, Mexico: 1957. TP-G (Jesuits in Colonial Mexico.)

Davies, Nigel. Voyagers to the New World. William Morrow: 1979. (Pretty even-handed discussion of evidence for pre-Columbian contacts.)

Davies, Nigel. The Toltecs: Until the Fall of Tula. University of Oklahoma: 1977. VG/G

Day, A. Grove. Coronado’s Quest: The History-Making Adventures of the First White Men to Invade the Southwest. University of California: 1964. TP-VG

Diehl, Richard A. Tula: The Toltec Capital of Ancient Mexico. Thames & Hudson: 1983. F/VG

Dumbarton Oaks. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, Numbers Nine through Eleven. #9: Badner, Mino. “A Possible Focus of Andean Artistic Influence in Mesoamerica.” #10: Quirarte, Jacinto. “Izapan-Style Art: A Study of Its Form and Meaning.” #11: Moser, Christopher L. “Human Decapitation in Ancient Mesoamerica.” Dumbarton Oaks: 1973. F/None

Dumbarton Oaks. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, Numbers Twelve through Fourteen. #12: Wilbert, Johannes. “The Thread of Life: Symbolism of Miniature Art from Ecuador.” #13: Roe, Peter G. “A Further Exploration of the Rowe Chavin Seriation and Its Implications for North Central Coast Chronology.” #14: Benson, Elizabeth P. “A Man and a Feline in Mochica Art.” Dumbarton Oaks: 1974. F/None

Fagan, Brian M. The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America. Thames & Hudson: 1987. F/VG

Ferguson, William M.; Arthur H. Rohn. Mesoamerica’s Ancient Cities: Arial Views of Precolumbian Ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. University Press of Colorado: 1990. F/F

Gibson, Charles. The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810. Stanford University: 1964. TP-VG

Graham, John A. Ancient Mesoamerica: Selected Readings. Peek Publications: 1966. TP-VG (prehistory, agriculture, Maya, misc.)

Grove, David C. Chalcatzingo: Excavations on the Olmec Frontier. Thames & Hudson: 1984. VG/VG

Grove, David C. & Rosemary A. Joyce, editors. Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 9 and 10 October 1993. Dumbarton Oaks: 1999. F/None

Gruener, James C. The Olmec Riddle: An Inquiry Into the Origin of Pre-Columbian Civilization. Vengreen Publications, 1987. F/F

Hansen, L. Taylor. He Walked the Americas. Amherst Press: 1963. G/No. (Haven’t read this yet. Is it Mormon? New Age?)

Hardoy, Jorge L. Precolumbian Cities. Walker, 1973. Large basic survey with a chapter on the Aztecs, and a chapter on Tenochtitlan. VG/VG.

Jones, Lindsay. Twin City Tales: A Hermeneutical Reassessment of Tula and Chichen Itza. University of Colorado: 1995. F/VG

Kelemen, Pal. Medieval American Art: Masterpieces of the New World before Columbus, Third Revised edition in two volumes. Dover: 1969.

Kiev, Ari. Curanderismo: Mexican-American Folk Psychiatry. Free Press: 1968. TP-G

Killion, Thomas W. Gardens of Prehistory: Archaeology of Settlement Agriculture in Mesoamerica University of Alabama: 1992. TP-F

Luckert, Karl W. Olmec Religion: A Key to Middle America and Beyond. University of Oklahoma: 1976. F/VG

MacKenzie, Donald A. Pre-Columbian America: Myths and Legends. Random House: 1923/1996. TP-VG. (Links between Old & New Worlds via mythology. Although much of the research is now out of date, bottom line remains valid: Do you believe in contact or archetypes?)

MacNeish, Richard S. (introduction). Early Man in America (Readings from Scientific American.) W. H. Freeman: 1973. TP-VG

Malmstrom, Vincent H. Cycles of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon: The Calendar in Mesoamerican Civilization. University of Texas: 1997. TP-VG

Marcus, Joyce; Kent V. Flannery. Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Thames & Hudson: 1996. VG/VG

Maslow, Jonathan Evan. Bird of Life, Bird of Death: A Political Ornithology of Central America. Dell: 1986. TP-VG (Neat travelogue/natural history of the quetzal.)

Miller, Arthur G. Highland-Lowland Interaction in Mesoamerica: Interdisciplinary Approaches: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, October 18th and 19th, 1980. Dumbarton Oaks: 1983. F/None

Miller, Mary Ellen. The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, third edition. Thames & Hudson: 2001. TP-VG

Nelson, Ralph (translator.) Popul Vuh: The Mythological Book of the Ancient Maya. Houghton Mifflin: 1976. TP-F

Nuttall, Zelia (editor); Arthur G. Miller (introduction) The Codex Nuttall: A Picture Manuscript from Ancient Mexico. Dover: 1902/1975. (Nuttall’s original manuscript is not reprinted, just the screenfold.) TP-F

O’Hanlon, Redmond. In Trouble Again: A Journey Between the Orinoco and the Amazon. Vintage: 1988. TP-VG (take to work?)

Pollard, Helen Perstein. Tariacuri’s Legacy : The Prehispanic Tarascan State. University of Oklahoma: 1993. F/F

Posnansky, Ing. Arthur; translated by James F. Shearer. Tihuanacu : The Cradle of American Man [La Cuna del Hombre Americano], Vol III, IV. Ministerio de Educacion, La Paz: 1957. VG/None

Ragghianti, Carol Ludovico; Licia Ragghianti Collobi. National Museum of Anthropology: Mexico City. Newsweek: 1970. VG/None

Read, Kay Almere; Jason J. Gonzalez. Mesoamerican Mythology: A guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America. Oxford University Press: 2000. TP-F

Rice, Don Stephen. Latin American Horizons: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 11th and 12th October 1986. Dumbarton Oaks: 1993. F/None

Riley, Carrol L. (ed.); J. Charles Kelley; Campbell W. Pennington; Robert L. Rands. Man across the Sea: Problems of Pre-Columbian Contacts. University of Texas Press: 1971. HC-VG/no

Riley, G. Micheal. Fernando Cortes and the Marquesado in Morelos, 1522-1547: A Case Study in the Socioeconomic Development of Sixteenth-Century Mexico. University of New Mexico Press: 1973. F/VG

Sabloff, Jeremy A. The Cities of Ancient Mexico: Reconstructing a Lost World, Revised Edition. Thames & Hudson: 1997. TP-VG

Schwartz, Marion. A History of Dogs in the Early Americas. Yale Univeristy: 1997. TP-F

Soustelle, Jacques. The Four Suns: Recollections and Reflections of an Ethnologist in Mexico. Grossman: 1971. VG/VG

Soustelle, Jacques. The Olmecs: The Oldest Civilization in Mexico. Doubleday: 1984. F/VG

Spores, Ronald. The Mixtecs in Ancient and Colonial Times. University of Oklahoma: 1984. F/F

Stark, Barbara L.; Philip J. Arnold III. Olmec to Aztec: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands. University of Arizona: 1997. VG/VG

Stephens, John L. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, with 111 Illustrations, in Two Volumes. Dover: 1854/1969. (Also have old vol. 2 of Yucatan, Harper & Bros: 1868)

Tompkins, Peter. Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids. Harper & Row: 1976. VG/VG

van Roojen, Pepin. Ancient Mexican Designs w/ CD-ROM (Pepin Press Agile Rabbit Editions) Pepin Press: 2002. TP-F w/ CD

von Hagen, Victor Wolfgang. Maya Explorer: John Lloyd Stephens and the Lost Cities of Central America and Yucatan. University of Oklahoma Press: 1947. VG/No

Von Wuthenau, Alexander; E. W. Hathaway (translator). Tepotzotlan (Art and Color in Mexico, Volume 1). Von Stetten Fotocolor: 1941. TP-VG/Slipcase (Awesome illustrations of Colonial baroque monestary.)

Westheim, Paul. The Art of Ancient Mexico. Doubleday: 1965, MM-VG

Wilgus, A. Curtis. Latin America in Maps: Historic, Geographic, Economic. Barnes & Noble: 1943. TP-G (plumber dropped this one in sink.)

Wilson, James A. Bits of Old Mexico. Self Published, San Francisco: 1910. G/No. (Amusing and interesting - but light - travelogue.)

Fiction

Bennett, Rowena; Fiore Mastri (illustrator). Runner for the King. Follett: 1944. (Kids’ book on the Incas.)

Bishop, Michael. Stolen Faces. Victor Gollancz: 1977. VG/VG (review copy). The planet Tezcatl is Aztec-culture society which has an infection of muphormosy, similar to leprosy . . . or does it?

Davidson, Avram. Clash of the Star-Kings. Ace (Double): 1966.

Esquivel, Laura. Malinche. Washington Square Press: 2006. TP-VG

Falkenhorst, C.; adapted by Elise L. Lathrop. With Cortez in Mexico: A Historical Romance. Hurst & Co: 1892.

Haggard, H. Rider. Montezuma's Daughter. Hodder & Stoughton: 1893/1919. Fair/No.

Ingraham, Joseph Holt. Montezuma, the Serf, or the Revolt of the Mexitili, a Tale of the Last Days of the Aztec Dynasty. H. L. Williams: 1845. G/No (Virtually no basis in history, but still a nice tale with a Arthurian/chivalric feel. Scarce.)

Jennings, Gary. Aztec. Avon: 1980. MM-G (well done, basic historical novel)

Jennings, Gary. Aztec Autumn. Forge, 1997. F/VG. (Second in the trilogy ending with "Aztec Blood.")

Kidwell, Carl. Arrow in the Sun. Viking: 1961. Illustrated with line drawings, possibly a teen novel? VG/G.

MacLeish, Archibald. Conquistador. Houghton Mifflin: 1932. VG/no 6/e. (Pulitzer-winning epic poem of the Conquest.)

Marshall, Edison. Cortez and Marina. Doubleday/Popular Library: 1963. MM-G

Murray, Yxta Maya. The Conquest. HarperCollins: 2002. G/G exlib

Novo, Salvador. The War of the Fatties and Other Stories from Aztec History. Univesity of Texas: 1994. VG/VG

Saberhagen, Fred. The Mask of the Sun. Tor: 1979. '87 MM.

Shearer, Tony. Lord of the Dawn: Quetzalcoatl. Naturegraph Publishers: 1971. TP-G (poetry inspired by Aztec thought & history.)

Shellabarger, Samuel. Captain from Castile. Little, Brown: 1945. ‘65-BCE-VG/G

Somerlott, Robert. Death of the Fifth Sun. Viking: 1987. Xlib-G/VG (Interesting in that it is told through the voice of Malinche. Some of it actually makes sense in clearing up a few of the more mysterious parts of the Conquest.)

Steele, Philip. The Aztec News. Candlewick Press: 1997. (Kids’ book in form of newspaper. Well done.)

Velasquez, Pedro. From John L. Stevens et al. Memoir of an Eventful Expedition in Central America; Resulting in the Discovery of the Idolatrous City of Iximaya, in an Unexplored Region; and the Possession of Two Remarkable Aztec Children, Descendants and Specimens of the Sacerdotal Caste, (Now Nearly Extinct) of the Ancient Aztec Founders of the Ruined Temples of that Country, Described by John L. Stevens, Esq., and Other Travellers. New York: J. W. Bell, 1850. Taped covers, possible first, but want the illustrated English edition.

Sabin 98812: "The Spanish original of the above and its author are myths. The chief interest lies in its connection with the history of the American circus, having been published to advertise the exhibition of the supposed "Aztec" children. A ms. note of E.G. S[quier] filed with Joseph Sabin's memoranda states that the children were born in the town of Usulutan, or Usulatan, south west of San Miguel, of mixed Indian, Spanish, and negro stock. Frequently reprinted in connection with exhibitions in the United States and in England, with the title 'Illustrated Memoir.' As is hinted in the title, the whole purpose of this hoax, which became a travelling performance, was to capitalize on the extraordinary interest that Stephens' two books on his discoveries in the Mayan lands had aroused. It can also be classed as 'Lost Race fiction.'"

Wallace, Lew. The Fair God, or, The Last of the ‘Tzins: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico. Houghton, Mifflin: 1873. VG/No 1887.

Watson, Virginia; Frank E. Schoonover (illus.) With Cortes the Conqueror.

Hampton Publishing Co.: (orig. 1917). VG/No. (Original edition is by Penn Pub. Co., this is probably 30's reprint.)

Misc.

Acosta, Joseph de. De Natura Novi Orbis. Salamanca: 1590. (or any English translation)

Aguilar, Fray Francisco de. Relacion Breve de la Conquista de la Nueva Espana (1560-1565) Mexico City: UNAM, 1977

Alva Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de. Obras Historicas (1625) Mexico City: UNAM, 1985

Benson, Elizabeth (ed.) Ritual Human Sacrifice in Mesoamerica.Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1984.

Beristain y Souza, Jose Mariano. Biblioteca Hispano Americana Septentrional . Amecameca: Colegio Catolico, 1883-1889 (3 vols + supplements). This may have been reprinted in 1980s.

Berlin, Heinrich (ed.) Anales de Tlatelolco (1530). Mexico: Robredo y Editorial Porrua, 1948

Brundage, Burr Cartwright. A Rain of Darts. Austin: Univ. Texas, 1972.

Emmart, Emily Walcott (ed.) Badianus Manuscript (Codex Barberini, Latin 241). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1940.

Lanyon, Anna. Malinche's Conquest. Allen & Unwin, 2000.

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