The Most Important Products in the Mexica/Azteca Economy
IntroductionIn this post I will discuss the most important products in Tenochtitlan at the time of the Spanish Conquest. To determine this list I utilized the Codex Mendoza. After the […]
The Chichimeca: Inhabitants of the Deserts, Caves, Forests, and Plains
Recently, I’ve noticed many people learning about and taking great pride in their Chichimeca heritage. Chichimeca is a great identity that people can use to reclaim their Indigenous heritage because […]
Decolonizing Our Diets: The Power of Pre-Columbian Foods
There is a growing movement among Indigenous cultural practitioners that advocates for the adoption of a vegan diet (or plant-based diet). Often times, the claim is made that our Indigenous […]
Got Native American DNA? Find Your Tribe
For most people who take a DNA test and find out they have Native American ancestry, the next question tends to be: how do I find my Native American tribal […]
The Tianquiztli Constellation
When it comes to constellations in the Azteca/Mexica culture there is not much information left for us. This is unfortunate because it is clear our ancestors tracked many celestial objects […]
The Mathematical and Scientific Significance of the Winter Solstice in the Mexica/Azteca World-View
Often times, the focus on mythology makes it difficult to see the mathematical and scientific significance of the winter solstice because it leads to the assumption that there is only […]
The Codex Borgia: A Pre-Columbian Guide for Calibrating the Azteca/Mexica Calendar
The Codex Borgia has been long recognized as one of the most important codices written before the Spanish Conquest that survived Spanish flames. Most of the content of the Borgia […]
Reconciling Life and Death in Mictlan: Reading a Myth in the Codex Borgia
*Here is an image (codex Borgia, page 44) that represents the story of how the first flowers came to be. In the image, Xochiquetzal ( as identified by her […]
Pre-Cuauhtemoc Nahuatl Names
Here are three census records from the 16th century. The census records list pre-cuauhtemoc names from three regions: San Luis Potosi, Cuernevaca, and Morelos. 1544 Morelos Census From: Cline, Sarah L., ed. The […]
Izcalli: the month of Xiutecuhtli and children
Izcalli is the seventeeth month of the year. This month was devoted to both Xiutecuhtli and children. The word Izcalli translates to “the growing” and during the month, parents lifted their […]