A Concise History of the Aztecs

Susan Kellogg''s history of the Aztecs offers a concise yet comprehensive assessment of Aztec history and civilization emphasizing how material life and the economy functioned in relation to politics religion and intellectual and artistic developments. Appreciating the vast number of sources available but also their limitations Kellogg focuses on three concepts throughout value transformation and balance. Aztecs created value material and symbolic worth. Value was created through transformations of bodies things and ideas. The overall goal of value creation and transformation was to keep the Aztec worldthe cosmos the earth its inhabitantsin balance a balance often threatened by spiritual and other forms of chaos. The book highlights the ethnicities that constituted Aztec peoples and sheds light on religion political and economic organization gender sexuality and family life intellectual achievements and survival. Seeking to correct common misperceptions Kellogg stresses the humanity of the Aztecs and problematizes the use of the terms ''human sacrifice'' ''myth'' and ''conquest''.