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Picture of a reed boat at the Floating Islands, on Lake Titicaca.

The Sacred Meaning of the Reed: From Houses and Boats to Rituals, Ceremonies and Portals

Many cultures around the world either place a special importance on the hollow-stemmed reed plant or recognize a certain “place of the reeds” within their territory. Legends of the Hopi tribe in...
The Spanish Armada, 1577

Will The Lost Fleet of Hernán Cortés And Its Treasures of the Aztec Finally be Found?

The search for the lost fleet of Hernán Cortés – the man who invaded and conquered Central America – is about to launch soon. Archaeologists suggest that the lost ships probably lie at the bottom of...
Burial at the Aztec site of Colhuacatonco belonging to the time of Spanish contact

Archaeologists in Mexico Unearth Evidence That Aztecs Resisted Spanish Rule Even In Death

Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered what they speculate was a dwelling where Aztecs of the higher socioeconomic classes that fought against the Spanish conquistadors tried to preserve their...
Alejandra Molina, an archaeologist with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), works at a site where a sacrificed young wolf elaborately adorned with some of the finest Aztec gold has been discovered adjacent to the Templo Mayor, one of the main Aztec temples, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Sacrificial Young Wolf Adorned with Best Quality Aztec Gold Ever Found is Discovered in Mexico City

Archaeologists have discovered a sacrificial wolf carefully adorned with some of the best quality Aztec gold ever found. It is believed that the wolf was buried more than five centuries ago in the...
Drawing of what part of Tenochtitlan city (now Mexico City), location of the temple and ball court, may have looked like, based on the Spanish chronicles.

Aztec Temple, Ball Court and 32 Neck Bones Discovered in the Heart of Mexico City

Archaeologists announced on Wednesday that important remains of a significant Aztec temple and a ceremonial ball court have been discovered in downtown Mexico City. According to the experts, the...
The Monolith of Tlaloc.

The Monolith of Tlaloc: Did Moving This Massive Stone Statue Incite the Fury of the Aztec Rain God?

The Monolith of Tlaloc is a giant stone carving of the Aztec god of rain, water, lightning, and agriculture, Tlaloc. This monolith was once located near the town of Coatlinchan (which translates as ‘...
Entrance from above to the Loltun Cave complex

Guided by the Ancestors? Mayan Fanatic Saved by a 1000-Year-Old Priest

On the 3rd of January 1931, an article appeared in the Modesto News-Herald entitled ‘Mystery of the Loltun Cave hermit’. The article recounted the encounter between a man by the name of Robert Stacy-...
Preparation of a corpse, Florentine Codex Book 3

New Study Finds Salmonella Brought by Europeans Caused Epidemic that Wiped Out 80% of the Aztecs

For years, historians and scientists have said that much of the population of the New World died from infectious diseases brought by Europeans, for which the natives had little or no natural bodily...
Have Researchers Discovered What Caused the 16th Century Mexican Epidemic That Killed Over 80% of the Population?

Have Researchers Discovered What Caused the 16th Century Mexican Epidemic That Killed Over 80% of the Population?

A pair of recently published studies point the finger at a deadly form of salmonella as the cause of millions of deaths in a 16th century Mexican epidemic outbreak. This cocoliztli (pestilence in...
Tezcatlipoca: How Does the Supreme God of the Aztecs Compare to Other Omnipotent Deities?

Tezcatlipoca: How Does the Supreme God of the Aztecs Compare to Other Omnipotent Deities?

The god Tezcatlipoca was a major Aztec deity who was worshiped in east-west facing temples in many Mesoamerican city-states under the influence of the Aztecs, particularly Texcoco. He was considered...
Tripping through Time: The Fascinating History of the Magic Mushroom

Tripping through Time: The Fascinating History of the Magic Mushroom

The psilocybin group of mushrooms, popularly known as magic mushrooms, shrooms or psychedelic mushrooms, is found in over two hundred varieties around the world. We know them today as a recreational...
Fun for Everyone: The Evolving History of Board Games

Fun for Everyone: The Evolving History of Board Games

The delightful hobby of playing games isn't a modern invention. While people in ancient times didn't have Pokemon Go to entertain themselves, they still spent hours of fun games both inside and...
Ahuitzotl: Powerful Ruler in the Aztec Golden Age

Ahuitzotl: Powerful Ruler in the Aztec Golden Age

Ahuitzotl was a tlatoani (meaning ‘speaker’) of the city of Tenochtitlan, and the eighth ruler of the Aztec Empire. This emperor reigned from 1486 AD to 1502 AD, a period which is regarded by some...
650-Year-Old Temple to Aztec Wind God Unearthed Under Supermarket in Mexico

650-Year-Old Temple to Aztec Wind God Unearthed Under Supermarket in Mexico

A temple dedicated to the Aztec wind god, Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl, has been unearthed during the demolition of a supermarket in Mexico City. The circular temple is about 650 years old and is the second...
Pre-Columbian Murals and Norse Sagas Suggest Vikings Met the Aztecs, and the Outcome Was Not Pretty

Pre-Columbian Murals and Norse Sagas Suggest Vikings Met the Aztecs, and the Outcome Was Not Pretty

Did the Vikings visit Pre-Columbian Mexico? The depiction of white people on Chichen Itza murals in the Temple of the Warriors probably represent Vikings - the major European navigators around the...
Art of an Empire: The Imagination, Creativity and Craftsmanship of the Aztecs

Art of an Empire: The Imagination, Creativity and Craftsmanship of the Aztecs

The Aztec Empire, centred at the capital of Tenochtitlan, dominated most of Mesoamerica in the 15th and 16th centuries CE. With military conquest and trade expansion the art of the Aztecs also spread...
Ancient Inhabitants of the Great City of Teotihuacan in Mexico Farmed Rabbits

Ancient Inhabitants of the Great City of Teotihuacan in Mexico Farmed Rabbits

Humans living in the pre-Hispanic Mexican city of Teotihuacan may have bred rabbits and hares for food, fur and bone tools, according to a study published August 17, 2016 in the open-access journal...
The Ancient of Days (William Blake, 1794)

Ancient Gods – When Darkness Ruled the World

Darkness is the opposite of brightness and it is characterized by the absence of visible light. The emotional response of humans to darkness has led to many culturally different metaphorical usages...
An Eagle warrior (left) depicted holding a machahuitl (a wooden sword with obsidian blades) in the Florentine Codex.

The Infamous Eagle Warriors: Elite Infantrymen of the Aztec Empire

The eagle warriors, or eagle knights as they are sometimes known, were a group of elite infantrymen in the army of the Aztec Empire. Those who belonged in this warrior society were either members of...
Carved and painted human mandible (jawbone) was found in a ceremonial area within a residential complex at the site of Dainzú-Macuilxóchitl in Mexico.

Jawbone Jewelry: Archaeologists Discover 1,300-Year-Old Painted Bone Pendants in Mexico

Archaeologists have unearthed painted human jawbones at a ceremonial site in Mexico associated with the ancient Zapotec civilization. It is believed the bones were worn as necklace pendants as part...
Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl: A Tragic Romance of Aztec Legend

Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl: A Tragic Romance of Aztec Legend

Mexican natural structures are the topic of many legends and mythical stories connected with pre-Columbian tribes like the Aztecs and Mayas. Two of the many volcanoes in Mexico became the symbols of...
Chaac and Tlaloc

Chaac and Tlaloc: Two Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Gods of the Rain

Chaac (also spelt as Chac) and Tlaloc are two important deities found in the traditional religious beliefs of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. These two deities were regarded as major gods due to the...
Monument to Cuauhtémoc in Veracruz, Mexico.

Cuauhtémoc, The Last Aztec Emperor to Fight Against the Spanish

Cuauhtémoc (meaning ‘Setting Sun’ or ‘Descending Eagle’) was the 11th Tlatoani (literally meaning ‘speaker’, but may also be translated as ‘king’) of Tenochtitlan, and the last ruler of the Aztec...

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