Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, author.

The great temple of the Aztecs : treasures of Tenochtitlan / Eduardo Matos Moctezuma ; translated from the Spanish by Doris Heyden.

New York : Thames and Hudson, 1988.

192 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cm.

New aspects of antiquity

"The Aztecs have fascinated and horrified Westerners for centuries. Few will be unfamiliar with the stirring tale of how, in 1521, Cortés and his small band of followers toppled the New World's most powerful civilization. News of the glittering empire found by the conquistadors astounded Europe -- as did stories about ritual sacrifice carried out on temple-pyramids. Colonists and priests flooded into Mexico to conquer and convert. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was torn to the ground and a Christian Cathedral rose near where the Great Temple of the Aztecs had once stood. Soon even the location of the old cult center was forgotten. In 1978 a chance find led to the rediscovery of the Great Temple -- and the most spectacular series of excavations ever conducted in Mexico. The Great Temple of the Aztecs is Professor Matos' personal account of his triumphant researches over six years. The giant pyramidal structure, as he and his colleagues discovered, had been rebuilt at least six times. The earlier, lower phases had survived the depredations of the Spanish, thus preserving a superimposed sequence of standing remains. Associated with each building phase were ritual deposits containing literally thousands of offerings from all over the Aztec empire: jaguar skeletons, jade masks, obsidian knives, stone sculptures, effigy vessels. What was the meaning behind all these cult objects? In a compelling analysis, Professor Matos links the offerings to the symbolism of the temple as a whole and its fearsome deities, the war and rain gods. Fully illustrated and complete with quotations from contemporary Spanish writings, this is the definitive account of one of the major excavations of our time." -- Provided by publisher

050039024X
9780500390245

Templo Mayor (Mexico City, Mexico)
Templo Mayor (Mexico City, Mexico.)
Aztecs Antiquities.
Antiquities
Mexico City (Mexico) Antiquities.
Mexico Mexico City
Mexico Mexico City Aztec antiquities Excavation of remains

Heyden, Doris, translator.
New aspects of antiquity.

Localisation: Bibliothèque main 37655
Cote: ID:88-B8599
Statut: Disponible