Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind (The Civilization of the American Indian Series)

by Miguel León-Portilla

Other authorsJack Emory Davis (Translator)
Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Call number

972.018

Collection

Publication

University of Oklahoma Press (1990), Edition: Revised ed., 272 pages

Description

For at least two millennia before the advent of the Spaniards in 1519, there was a flourishing civilization in central Mexico. During that long span of time a cultural evolution took place which saw a high development of the arts and literature, the formulation of complex religious doctrines, systems of education, and diverse political and social organization. The rich documentation concerning these people, commonly called Aztecs, includes, in addition to a few codices written before the Conquest, thousands of folios in the Nahuatl or Aztec language written by natives after the Conquest. Adapting the Latin alphabet, which they had been taught by the missionary friars, to their native tongue, they recorded poems, chronicles, and traditions. The fundamental concepts of ancient Mexico presented and examined in this book have been taken from more than ninety original Aztec documents. They concern the origin of the universe and of life, conjectures on the mystery of God, the possibility of comprehending things beyond the realm of experience, life after death, and the meaning of education, history, and art. The philosophy of the Nahuatl wise men, which probably stemmed from the ancient doctrines and traditions of the Teotihuacans and Toltecs, quite often reveals profound intuition and in some instances is remarkably "modern." This English edition is not a direct translation of the original Spanish, but an adaptation and rewriting of the text for the English-speaking reader.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member thcson
An interesting an important book, but more than anything else it shows how limited the evidence about Aztec thought and culture is. Hopefully a deeper account of this topic can be written sometime in the future.
LibraryThing member sashame
a decent reference to the philosophical content of the available codices, w a slight glimpse into a little of the established consensus in archaeology. while the analysis is decent, the circumscribed source material is a little disappointing

Language

Original language

Spanish

Physical description

272 p.; 5.5 inches

ISBN

0806122951 / 9780806122953

UPC

658804022959

Similar in this library

Page: 0.2987 seconds