Home Region:  Mexico (North America)

Aztec Empire

D G SC WF CC PT EQ 2020  mx_aztec_emp / MxAztec

Preceding:
No Polity found. Add one here.

Succeeding:
No Polity found. Add one here.

The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Late Postclassic period, when the Aztecs or Mexica rose to power (c. 1427-1526 CE). The Aztec Empire was born from the "Triple Alliance" between the city-states (altepetl) of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, who agreed to collaborate on campaign of territorial expansion and share the resulting tribute and tax payments. [1] Within a century, the three cities came to control a significant portion of Northern Mesoamerica, the main exception being the West, which, despite some military successes on the part of the Triple Alliance early on, largely remained under the control of the Tarascans. [2]
As the empire grew, so did the power of Tenochtitlan, which became the de-facto administrative capital, whose ruler came to hold the title huey tlatoani (“high king”). Tenochtitlan’s power was strongest over the empire’s central provinces, where the Aztecs ruled through governors, judges, tax collectors and other officials that they appointed themselves. For the "outer" provinces, the Aztecs limited themselves to targeting major centres, where, again, they appointed their governors and administrative officials. Finally, the Aztecs secured their power over "frontier" provinces by guaranteeing military protection from external foes, in exchange for "gifts" of soldiers and prestige goods. [3]
By the time of Spanish conquest in the 1520s, Tenochtitlan likely housed between 150,000 and 250,000 people, [4] perhaps even 3,000. [5]

[1]: (Smith and Sergheraert 2012: 449-451) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XC9E2B7Q.

[2]: (Evans 2012: 125) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X.

[3]: (Smith and Sergheraert 2012: 455-457) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XC9E2B7Q.

[4]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)

[5]: (De Rioja 2017: 220) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GC3T83JD.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[1,427 CE ➜ 1,526 CE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Language
Language Genus:
NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI  
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[150,000 to 300,000] people  
Polity Territory:
28,070 km2  
Polity Population:
[3,000,000 to 4,000,000] people  
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
5  
Military Level:
[6 to 7]  
Administrative Level:
6  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
present  
Professional Priesthood:
present  
Professional Military Officer:
present  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present  
Merit Promotion:
present  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
present  
Examination System:
present  
absent  
Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent  
Judge:
present  
Formal Legal Code:
present  
Court:
absent  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present  
Irrigation System:
present  
Food Storage Site:
present  
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
absent  
Script:
present  
Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent  
Nonwritten Record:
present  
Mnemonic Device:
present  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present  
Sacred Text:
present  
Religious Literature:
absent  
Practical Literature:
absent  
Philosophy:
absent  
Lists Tables and Classification:
absent  
History:
present  
Fiction:
absent  
Calendar:
present  
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Wooden Palisade:
inferred absent  
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present  
  Stone Walls Mortared:
inferred absent  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present  
  Modern Fortification:
absent  
  Moat:
inferred absent  
  Fortified Camp:
inferred absent  
  Earth Rampart:
inferred absent  
  Ditch:
inferred absent  
  Complex Fortification:
present  
  Long Wall:
absent  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
absent  
  Iron:
absent  
  Copper:
absent  
  Bronze:
absent  
Projectiles
  Sling:
present  
  Self Bow:
present  
  Javelin:
absent  
  Atlatl:
present  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
present  
  Sword:
present  
  Spear:
present  
  Polearm:
absent  
  Dagger:
present  
  Battle Axe:
present  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
absent  
  Elephant:
absent  
  Donkey:
absent  
  Dog:
absent  
  Camel:
absent  
Armor
  Shield:
present  
  Limb Protection:
absent  
  Helmet:
present  
  Breastplate:
present  
Naval technology
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Aztec Empire (mx_aztec_emp) was in:
 (1427 CE 1519 CE)   Basin of Mexico
Home NGA: Basin of Mexico

General Variables
Identity and Location
Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[1,427 CE ➜ 1,526 CE]

Political and Cultural Relations
Language
Language Genus:
NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI

Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[150,000 to 300,000] people

"When the Spanish arrived [...] the city could have housed up to 300,000 inhabitants". [1] In a recent personal communication, David Carballo suggested a rough estimate of "150-250k" for the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan at this time. [2]

[1]: (De Rioja 2017: 220) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GC3T83JD.

[2]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Polity Territory:
28,070 km2

in squared kilometers. Valley of Mexico = 7,260 square km + Aztec Central Mexico = 20,810 square km. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1996: 62) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6XJ65SKB


Polity Population:
[3,000,000 to 4,000,000] people

"Just over one million people were living in the Valley of Mexico [...] in 1519 and another two to three million Aztecs dwelt in the surrounding valleys of central Mexico". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1996: 60) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6XJ65SKB


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
5

levels. Information retrieved from a map of the settlement pattern in the Valley of Mexico during the Aztec rulership. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1979: 116-117) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2JN8GGSP


Military Level:
[6 to 7]

levels.
"Rank was achieved primarily by the taking of captives." [1]
1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Commanding General (has taken a difficult captive) [2] 3. General (inferred lower than Commanding General, has taken a difficult captive) [2] 4. Veteran Warriors (have taken more than four captives) [1] 5. Leader of Youth (three captives) [1] 6. Leading Youth (when a youth takes a captive without any help) [1] 7. Soldier without accomplishments (inferred)
A more meta look at the rankings in terms of groups of knights:"There were two orders of a quasi-noble rank (Eagle and Jaguar knights), lesser orders who could still wear fine battle gear, and simple foot soldiers." [3]
1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Eagle Knights
2. Jaguar Knights3. Lesser orders of knights. Cuauhpipltin: "Commoners who had achieved noble status by virtue of their deeds in war." [4] 4. Simple foot soldiers: yaoquizqueh

[1]: (Hassig 1988: 37) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8U993JEU)

[2]: (Hassig 1988: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8U993JEU)

[3]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)

[4]: (Hassig 1988: 29) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8U993JEU)


Administrative Level:
6

levels. [1]
1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Cihuacoatl (Secretary of State)3. Noble council members (could range from low dozens to low hundreds by city state)4. Provincial governor (tlatoani) of subject city-state5. Ward or district chiefs6. Lineage heads
6. Hereditary nobles [2]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)

[2]: (Hassig 1988: 29) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8U993JEU)


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

Professional soldiers are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). Evidence is more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Professional Priesthood:
present

Professional priests are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE), and likely existed from the Middle Formative period. Evidence is more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Professional Military Officer:
present

Professional military officers are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). Evidence is more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present

"Nobles lived and worked in [...] palaces. These served as residencies and as administrative buildings where the lord attended to the affairs of whatever social and political institution [...] was under his direction". [1] Government buildings (such as council houses) present in this period. "There certainly were specialized government building by this definition in the Aztec period. There were council houses that were separate from the ruler’s palace and akin to a "senate" in Classical Med societies. There were also state run schools in two tiers: the lower one more vocational/military and the higher one training the scribal, priest, and administrator classes." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1996: 153) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6XJ65SKB.

[2]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Merit Promotion:
present

Present in the Aztec period. [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Full Time Bureaucrat:
present

Full time bureaucrats are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). Evidence more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521) than in previous periods. [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Examination System:
present

"Possible but unlikely in the Aztec period through schools like the Calmecac." [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)

Examination System:
absent

"Possible but unlikely in the Aztec period through schools like the Calmecac." [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

[1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Judge:
present

Present in the Aztec period [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Formal Legal Code:
present

Present in the Aztec period [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Court:
absent

[1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

"Almost every Aztec settlement[...] had a marketplace". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1996: 114) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6XJ65SKB.


Irrigation System:
present

Food Storage Site:
present

Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
absent

"Absent in the Basin, present in lowland Mesoamerica c. 100 BCE-900CE." [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Script:
present

First evidence in Teotihuacan c. 200 CE. [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

[1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Nonwritten Record:
present

First evidence in the Early Formative period (1500-1000 BCE). [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Mnemonic Device:
present

Present since the Archaic Period c. 10 ka. [1]

[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

"Astronomical almanacs inferred for Classic period, c. 200-900, preserved from c. 1300 onwards." [1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Sacred Text:
present

Present in Classic Maya 200-900 CE. Possibly present in Teotihuacan. Present in the Basin by c. 1300 CE. [1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Religious Literature:
absent

[1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Practical Literature:
absent

[1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Philosophy:
absent

"Known for the colonial period, maybe oral philosophy earlier." [1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Lists Tables and Classification:
absent

[1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


History:
present

Present in Classic Maya 200-900 CE. Only historical records in the Basin are conquest records by the Aztec (1450-1519 CE). [1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Fiction:
absent

[1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Calendar:
present

First evidence in Mesoamerica c. 500 BCE. Present at Teotihuacan c. 200 CE onwards. [1]

[1]: Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)


Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Stone Walls Mortared:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Modern Fortification:
absent

Moat:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Fortified Camp:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Earth Rampart:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Ditch:
absent

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Complex Fortification:
present

"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia." [1]

[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)


Long Wall:
absent

Military use of Metals
Steel:
absent

"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]

[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.


Iron:
absent

"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]

[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.


Copper:
absent

"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]

[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.


Bronze:
absent

"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]

[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.


Projectiles
Sling:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Self Bow:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Javelin:
absent

Not mentioned by sources.


Atlatl:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Handheld weapons
War Club:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Sword:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Spear:
present

"The main Aztec shock weapons were thrusting spears". [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 138) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Polearm:
absent

Not mentioned by sources.


Dagger:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Battle Axe:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
absent

Not native to region.


Elephant:
absent

Not native to region.


Donkey:
absent

Not native to region.


Dog:
absent

Although domesticated dogs were present during this period, [1] [2] their function is unclear (food and/or hunting), [3] [4] and war dogs were unknown in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish Conquest; indeed, Hassig lists war dogs among the new military "technologies" the Spanish introduced to the region in the sixteenth century [5] [6] [7]

[1]: Savolainen, P., Y. Zhang, J. Luo, J. Lundeberg, and T. Leitner. (2002) "Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of domestic dogs." Science 298:1610-1613.

[2]: Leonard, J. A., R. K. Wayne, J. Wheeler, R. Valadez, S. Guillén, and C. Vilà. (2002) "Ancient DNA evidence for old world origin of new world dogs." Science 298: 1613-1616.

[3]: Sanders, William T., Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley. (1979) The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York, pg. 285.

[4]: Rosenswig, Robert M. (2015) "A Mosaic of Adaptation: The Archaeological Record for Mesoamerica’s Archaic Period." Journal of Archaeological Research 23(2): 115-162.

[5]: (Hassig 1992, 143) Hassig, Robert. 1992. War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. London; Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/F76EVNU3/itemKey/E9VHCKDG

[6]: Hassig, Ross. (1988) Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 237.

[7]: Hassig, Ross. (1992) War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. Berkeley: University of California Press, pg.163.


Camel:
absent

Not native to region.


Armor
Shield:
present

Listed by Hassig. [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Limb Protection:
absent

"Because archery placed continued stress on mobility, the limbs remained unarmored". [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Helmet:
present

"The Aztecs used shields, various forms of body armor, warriors’ suits, and helmets […] the elite also adopted complete torso armor". [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Breastplate:
present

"The Aztecs used shields, various forms of body armor, warriors’ suits, and helmets […] the elite also adopted complete torso armor". [1]

[1]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.


Naval technology

Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions