Spring 2004

LAS 381 • AZTEC ART

Course Description

When the Spaniards reached Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec tribute empire, they were deeply impressed by the monumental art that adorned this big city, especially its sacred core, the Great Temple. Although Aztec art has been known and studied since the colonial period, very little is actually known about its function and context. The ideological and cosmological significance of the Templo Mayor and its sculpture has been the subject of research by many scholars, and this work has stimulated a more general concern with Aztec myth, cosmology and ideology. However, in this class we will also place emphasis on art from the imperial provinces. We will practice various methodological approaches and use both ethnohistorical sources as well as archaeological data.

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