Examines the importance of the Aztec temple from the perspectives of archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and religious historian

The Aztecs have fascinated and horrified Westerners for centuries. After Cortes' extraordinary conquest of the New World's most powerful civilization in 1521, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was levelled and its Great Temple demolished. Soon even the location of the old cult centre was lost - until 1978, when tunnelling for Mexico City's subway system unearthed clues that led to the rediscovery of the Great Temple and the most spectacular series of excavations ever conducted in Mexico.

Illuminates the complexities of Aztec life. Readers meet a people highly skilled in sculpture, astronomy, city planning, poetry, and philosophy, who were also profoundly committed to cosmic regeneration through the thrust of the ceremonial knife and through warfare.

After Cortes' extraordinary conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was leveled and its Great Temple demolished. In 1978, clues that led to the rediscovery of the Great Temple and the most spectacular excavations ever conducted in Mexico. Matos discovered ritual deposits containing thousands of offerings from all over the Aztec empire; jaguar skeletons, jade masks, obsidian knives, stone sculptures, and effigy vessels. Matos links these to the overall symbolism of the temple and its fearsome deities, the war and rain gods. Fully illustrated and complete with extensive quotations from 16th-century chronicles.

The great temple known as the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan symbolizes the axis mundi, the Aztec center of the world, where the sky, the earth, and the underworld met. In this volume, Matos Moctezuma uses his unmatched familiarity with the archaeological details to present a concise and well-supported development of this theme.

The Aztec World is an illustrated survey of the Aztecs based on insightful research by a team of international experts from the United States and Mexico. In addition to traditional subjects like cosmology, religion, human sacrifice, and political history, this book covers such contemporary concerns as the environment and agriculture, health and disease, women and social status, and urbanism. It also discusses the effects of European conquests on Aztec culture and society, in addition to offering modern perspectives on their civilization. The text is accompanied by colorful illustrations and photos of artifacts from the best collections in Mexico, including those of the Templo Mayor Museum and the National Museum of Anthropology, both in Mexico City, as well as pieces from archaeological sites and virtual reconstructions of lost artwork. The book accompanies an exhibition at The Field Museum.