Why didn’t the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica have wheeled transport? They had a vibrant commercial economy, with lots of long-distance trade, periodic marketplaces, and professional merchants. They had two types of money. But they didn’t use wheeled carts. The surprising thing is that the Mesoamericans... Read More

Mesoamerican climate – never extreme and with long periods of pleasant temperatures – played an important role in shaping the region’s architecture and household furnishings. Since building methods had barely moved on beyond ‘post-and-beam’ techniques (vertical columns or posts and horizontal beams or lintels), common... Read More

The Aztecs had many ways of creating the vibrant colors they used to dye their clothes with. As beautiful were their pigments for paintings, murals, and covers of their sculptures. Here’s a small list of some of the materials and processes they used: Color RED... Read More

Between the grand feasts consumed by the Mexica rulers in Tenochtitlan Palace and the daily meals the last of the commoners living by the wharves or the marketplace hastily devoured, the flow of the edible goods entering the island city had to be maintained and... Read More

The lives of children in Mesoamerica were fascinating in many respects. To understand how children fit into the Aztec culture, and how they were honored, we should go right back to the beginning… even before the children were born. Birth Since warfare was glorified by... Read More

Many pre-columbian people of central Mexico, the Aztecs included, shared the same basic structure of calendar that consisted of 365-days cycle, among the rest. In fact there were two calendars: Xiuhpohualli (xiuhtl-year, pohualli-count) – the 365 days calendar, and a 260-day ritual cycle called Tonalpohualli... Read More

Women in Aztec civilization had a certain degree of acknowledged equality with men, and enjoyed relative independence in matters such as paid work. Aztec civilization saw the rise of a military culture, however, that was closed to women and made their role more subordinate to... Read More