Abstract
This paper examines the defeat of the Aztecs by the Spanish conquistadors. It considers the significance of military technology, religious beliefs and the Aztec lack of resistance to Old World diseases, with the last being the most crucial factor in the conquest.

From the Paper
"The defeat of the Aztec Empire by a couple of hundred Spanish conquistadors under Cortez is one of the most dramatic and one-sided wars of conquest in history equaled perhaps only by the contemporary..."

Tags:aztecs, conquistadors, technology, religion, disease

Abstract
An annotated bibliography on the Aztecs discussing Aztec art, culture, religion, and history.

From the Paper
"Chipman D. E. "Moctezuma's Children, Aztec Royalty Under Spanish Rule", Austin University of Texas Press. This study explores the fate of the royal wives and children of Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma II under Spanish colonial rule. The story focuses on his principal wife's daughter Isabel, as she was called by the Spanish who was his principal heir, given that none of his male offspring survived the conquest. This woman and others including Dona Mariana, a half-sister of Isabel and Don Pedro a half-brother, were employed..."

Tags:Aztecs, annotated bibliography

Abstract
This paper analyzes and reviews Lucien Biart's seminal work on Aztec culture entitled "The Aztecs: Their History, Manners, and Customs." The paper describes Biart's book, which was published in 1887, as written during a time of ignorance about pre-Colombian Mexico. Then it discusses the structure of the book chapter by chapter. According to the paper, the first half of the work is a chronological look at the evolution of human societies in Mexico, and the second half explores their culture. The review also examines flaws in "The Aztecs," such as the lack of citations and the over glorification of Aztec culture. The paper concludes by stating that "The Aztecs" comes across as being a noteworthy starting point for in-depth research into Aztec historiography.

From the Paper
"The first half of the book offers a basically chronological look at the evolution of human societies in Mexico. However, Biart's organization is not strictly chronological. Chapter 1 introduces the material with a thorough evaluation of Mexico's geography: including its diverse climate and terrain. Biart suggests that geography informs the development of culture. Geography determines which plants and crops grow and which animals flourish. Moreover, a geographic analysis helps historians understand how warring factions might have used terrain as a military advantage. Biart also suggests that geography may have impacted the interactions between indigenous Aztecs and the conquistadors."

Tags:pre-Colombian Mexico, Lucien Biart, colonialism, Anahuac

Abstract
The paper explores how in the years prior to the arrival of Spanish conquerors, the Aztecs would employ a political system, a warfare strategy and a system of agriculture which would all figure significantly into the success of the civilization and its contribution to the evolution of human civilization. The paper highlights the religious, political and economic characteristics of the Aztecs and how they shed light on the reasons for the culture's success and, possibly, for its failure.

From the Paper
"It is without connotation that we consider the religiosity of the Aztecs Kings, but as historical accounts accumulate, it becomes increasingly evident that this has prefigured into the peoples' eventual demise. As illustrated by Leon-Portillo's (1959) accounting of the battle between Cortes' Spanish forces and the Aztecs as led by King Montezuma, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, the conflict's outcome was actually determined by a set of cultural divergences that predisposed the Aztec's to implement very little resistance to Spanish interests. A consideration of the sequence of events leading up to, concurring with and following the destruction of the Aztec people as offered from the perspective of the defeated pre-South American culture indicates that though they derived their capabilities from a civilization equally as sophisticated and advanced as that of the Spanish, their leadership was driven to approach the incoming Europeans with a stance that was softened by religious and geographical characteristics."

Tags:warfare, agriculture, politics, religion

Abstract
This paper focuses on the various and varied sources used by Soustelle in his book in which the author provides a multi-perspective account into the daily life of the Aztecs. Soustelle draws upon original source documents from surviving texts and materials. He cites surviving Aztec documents such as the Codex Azcatitlan, Cronica Mexicayotl, and the Mapa Tlotzin; Soustelle also cites numerous Spanish sources written at the time of conquest.

From the Paper
"The Introduction to Daily Life of the Aztecs provides historical context and background to the ideas, issues, and facts Soustelle presents in the book. The author begins by reminding the reader that the Aztecs were only one of many Mexican civilizations that flowered since the third millennium, BCE. Furthermore, Soustelle notes that the Aztecs themselves conquered other cultures on Mexican soil to eventually attain dominance of the region. The area in question is Mexico-Tenochtitlan, or the valley now known as Mexico City. Because Aztec life during the fifteenth century was largely urban in nature, Soustelle is also able to hone in on the specifics of city life. This makes the material extremely accessible to modern readers, who can relate to many of the aspects of daily life depicted in Soustelle's book. The introduction also clarifies the source documents. The Aztecs were dedicated to chronicling their culture, as they were proud and self-conscious people. Their language was a sophisticated set of figurative and phonetic pictographs. Unfortunately, after conquest, most of the Aztec writings were destroyed. The Spaniards, when they first encountered the Aztec people, deemed them immoral savages incapable of producing anything of true worth. Soustelle does a great job of emphasizing the horrendous nature of the conquest, even as he is able to describe some of the more brutal activities the Aztecs themselves engaged in. Soustelle's account is honest but not without opinion"

Tags:Codex, Azcatitlan, Cronica, Mexicayotl, Mapa, Tlotzin

Abstract
This paper examines how early in the fourteenth century, the Aztec people arrived in the Valley of Mexico and how they rose from squatters to mercenaries to become the dominant state in pre-Columbian Mexico. It also looks at how Tenochtitlan, their capital city, flourished until 1519, with the arrival of the Spaniards and how eventually, the entirety of Aztec civilization was brought to its knees by the Spanish invaders.

From the Paper
"As the Aztec people rose to become a more successful state through military conquests, they also improved upon farming methods. They converted the highly fertile marsh lands into the largely successful chinampa system. They piled rows of mud and other materials, dug canals in between the raised piles, then planted willow trees around the perimeter to fortify their gardens. The results were long, rectangular patches of land, known as chinampas surrounded by marshy water which resembled floating gardens. The farmers would regularly apply soil from the bottom of the canals to the surface of the chinampas to rejuvenate the nutrients of the gardens. "

Tags:aztecs, mexico, precolumbian, tenochtilan

Abstract
This paper is a comparison of the ancient Aztec civilization and the Roman Empire. Similarities and differences in the religions, governments, laws and social class structure of these two societies are examined. A discussion of the causes of any perceived differences between these two civilizations is included.

Abstract
The great Aztec civilization was so foreign and so utterly isolated from other world civilizations, that, when the Spanish conquistadors first saw it, their emotions were a mixture of awe and horror. They were awed by the artistic, technological and social advances they witnessed; but they were horrified by their pagan ways, the human sacrifices and the cannibalism they saw. This paper examines the origins of the Aztecs, and examines this civilization in terms of mythology, agriculture, craft and religion. It also traces the destruction of the Aztecs by the Spaniards in the 16th Century.

From the Paper
"As limited as the land devoted to producing maize was, animal sources of nutrition were even harder to come by. "Dogs, turkeys, and the Muscovy duck were the only domesticated animals in ancient Mesoamerica. All were used for food, but they made only a minor contribution to the Aztec diet." (Smith 2003:63). This situation is most closely analogous to the rice crop of eastern Asia, and contrasts sharply with the ancient West, where numerous animals were domesticated on a large scale for the purposes of nutrition. By virtue of their dependence upon maize, the Aztecs developed some of the most advanced farming techniques in the world."

Tags:Olmec, Veracruz, Tenochtitlan, Mayan

Abstract
This paper looks at how the Aztec people took their religion very seriously and how they were one of the first groups of people to make up their own calendar and how they worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses. It discusses some of their beliefs and rituals and evaluates how the importance of the gods and goddesses as well as the importance and significance of calendars are incorporated into these religious beliefs.

Outline
The Religion of the Aztecs
Introduction
The Aztec Calendar System
Aztec Beliefs
Primary Gods
Rites and Ceremonies
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper
"Aztecs worshiped in temples that were either round or shaped like pyramids (Gregoire, 2003). Many of these temples had special areas that were used for games and other forms of offerings. These included special courts for playing ball games, and an area with sacrificial stones. The Aztecs normally followed a ritual of purification, then offering, then sacrifice. They believed that sacrifice was intrinsic to the worship of the gods, and that it was a necessity because there could be no new life without death. Death was part of the great circle of life, and the Aztecs had opinions about what happened to a person when they died. According to the Aztecs, where you went in death depended on what you had done in life (Perkin, 10)."

Tags:rituals, sun, rain, sacrifice, purification

Abstract
The paper focuses on how domestication of animals and resistance to infectious disease were the primary factors responsible for Spanish victory over the Incas and Aztecs.

From the Paper
"In "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" author Jared Diamond argues that history followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments. These differences included not only geographic and climate distinctions, but also differences in agriculture, animal domestication diseases and disease resistance and the social and bureaucratic institutions these aspects of society helped evolve. If we look at the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas, we see that such differences were instrumental in leading the greatly outnumbered Spaniards..."

Tags:horses, military, combat, environment, latitude, climate, Montezuma, Cortes, gods, technology