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Huitzilopochtli's Conquest: Aztec Ideology in the Archaeological Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2008

Elizabeth M. Brumfiel
Elizabeth M. Brumfiel
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and SociologyAlbion CollegeAlbion, MI 49224USA
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Extract

This article was presented as the third David Clarke Memorial Lecture at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University, 1997. It examines the role of religious ideology in the Aztec state. Ideology is often regarded as a means of easing tension between a dominant and a subordinate group. Ideology, however, might also serve as a mechanism for achieving unity within the dominant group so that it can control subordinates through direct coercion. State-sponsored religion occupied a prominent position in Aztec culture. But, did tribute-paying commoners accept the state's religious rationale for warfare, conquest, and sacrifice? Or was the message primarily directed to higher-status elites? Archaeological material from the Aztec Great Temple and from village sites in the Aztec hinterland are used to assess the role ofrelgion in Aztec political life.

Type
Articles
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , April 1998 , pp. 3 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 1998

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