The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, the first of its kind, provides a current overview of recent research on the Aztec empire, the best documented prehispanic society in the Americas. Chapters span from the establishment of Aztec city-states to the encounter with the Spanish empire and the Colonial period that shaped the modern world. Articles in the Handbook take up new research trends and methodologies and current debates. The Handbook articles are divided into seven parts. Part I, Archaeology of the Aztecs, introduces the Aztecs, as well as Aztec studies today, including the recent practice of archaeology, ethnohistory, museum studies, and conservation. The articles in Part II, Historical Change, provide a long-term view of the Aztecs starting with important predecessors, the development of Aztec city-states and imperialism, and ending with a discussion of the encounter of the Aztec and Spanish empires. Articles also discuss Aztec notions of history, writing, and time. Part III, Landscapes and Places, describes the Aztec world in terms of its geography, ecology, and demography at varying scales from households to cities. Part IVEconomic and Social Relations in the Aztec Empire, discusses the ethnic complexity of the Aztec world and social and economic relations that have been a major focus of archaeology. Articles in Part V, Aztec Provinces, Friends, and Foes, focuses on the Aztec's dynamic relations with distant provinces, and empires and groups that resisted conquest, and even allied with the Spanish to overthrow the Aztec king. This is followed by Part VI, Ritual, Belief, and Religion, which examines the different beliefs and rituals that formed Aztec religion and their worldview, as well as the material culture of religious practice. The final section of the volume, Aztecs after the Conquest, carries the Aztecs through the post-conquest period, an increasingly important area of archaeological work, and considers the place of the Aztecs in the modern world.

Part I. Archaeology of the AztecsIntroduction Aztec Studies: Trends and ThemesDeborah L. Nichols and Enrique Rodr?guez-Alegr?aChapter 1 Ancient Stone Sculptures: In Search of the Mexica PastEduardo Matos MoctezumaChapter 2 The Historical Sources: Codices and ChroniclesJuan Jos? BatallaChapter 3 Museums and the Conservation of Mexica Cultural HeritageMar?a de Lourdes Gallardo ParrodiPart II. Historical ChangeChapter 4 Comments on Cultural Continuities Between Tula and the Mexica.Luis M Gamboa Cabezas and Robert H. CobeanChapter 5 Aztec Settlement HistoryLarry Gorenflo and Christopher P. GarratyChapter 6 The Creation, Rise, and Decline of Mexica PowerEnrique FlorescanoChapter 7 The Measure, Meaning and Transformation of Aztec Time and CalendarsAnthony F. AveniChapter 8 Aztec Pictography and Painted HistoriesElizabeth Hill BooneChapter 9 The Languages of the Aztec EmpireJane HillChapter 10 Aztec State Making, Politics, and Empires: The Triple AllianceLane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton, and Verenice Heredia EspinozaChapter 11 Nahua Thought and the ConquestMichel R. Oudijk and Maria Casta?eda de la PazPart III. Landscapes and PlacesChapter 12 Aztec Agricultural Production in a Historical Ecological PerspectiveEmily McClung de Tapia and Diana Mart?nez YrizarChapter 13 Population History in Pre-Columbian and Colonial TimesLourdes M?rquez Morf?n and Rebecca StoreyChapter 14 Aztec Urbanism: Cities and TownsMichael E. SmithChapter 15 TenochtitlanJos? Luis de RojasChapter 16 Palaces and Gardens, Intertwined EvolutionSusan Toby EvansChapter 17 Households in the Aztec EmpireKristin De LuciaPart IV. Economic and Social Relations in the Aztec EmpireChapter 18 Aztec Agricultural Strategies: Intensification, Landesque Capital, and the Socio-politics of ProductionChristopher MorehartChapter 19 The Structure of Aztec Commerce: Markets and MerchantsKenneth Hirth and Deborah L. NicholsAztec Manufacturing:Chapter 20 Aztec Use of Lake Resources in the Basin of MexicoJohn K. MilhauserChapter 21 Aztec MetallurgyDorothy HoslerChapter 22 Aztec Obsidian IndustriesDavid M. Carballo and Alejandro PastranaChapter 23 Aztec LapidariesCynthia Otis Charlton and Alejandro PastranaChapter 24 Pottery and the Potter's Craft in the Aztec HeartlandLeah D. MincChapter 25 Pregnant in the Dancing Place: Myths and Methods of Textile Production and UseGeoffrey McCafferty and Sharisse McCaffertySocial RelationsChapter 26 Gender and Aztec LifecyclesCaroline Dodds PennockChapter 27 The Human Body in the Mexica WorldviewAlfredo L?pez AustinChapter 28 Nahua EthnicityJames M. TaggertChapter 29 Inequality and Social Class in Aztec SocietyMichael E. Smith and Frederic HicksPart V. Aztec Provinces, Friends, and FoesChapter 30 Structure of the Aztec EmpireFrances F. BerdanChapter 31 Mexica War: New Research PerspectivesMarco A. Cervera Obreg?nChapter 32 Aztec Provinces of the Central HighlandsMa?lle SergheraertChapter 33 Aztec Provinces of the Southern HighlandsGerardo Guti?rrezChapter 34 Aztec Provinces of the Gulf LowlandsMarcie L. VenterChapter 35 Tututepec: A Mixtec Imperial Capital in Southern OaxacaMarc N. LevineChapter 36 Cholula in Aztec TimesPatricia Plunket and Gabriella Uru?uelaChapter 37 The Independent Republic of TlaxcallanLane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton, and Verenice Y. Heredia EspinozaChapter 38 The Tarascan (Pur?pecha) EmpireAnna S. Cohen and Christopher FisherChapter 39 Aztec Empire in Comparative PerspectiveR. Alan Covey and Amanda AlandPart VI. Ritual, Belief, and ReligionChapter 40 Humans and Gods in the Mexica UniverseGuilhem OlivierChapter 41 Aztec Art, Time, and Cosmovisi?nWilliam BarnesChapter 42 The Aztec Ritual LandscapeLeon Garcia GaragarzaChapter 43 State Ritual and Religion in the Sacred Precinct of TenochtitlanAlfredo L?pez Austin and Leonardo L?pez Luj?nChapter 44 Aztec Domestic RitualLisa OverholtzerPart VII. Aztecs After the ConquestChapter 45 Postconquest Rural Aztec ArchaeologyPatricia Fournier G. and Cynthia L. Otis CharltonChapter 46 Postconquest Urban Aztec ArchaeologyEnrique Rodr?guez-Alegr?aChapter 47 The Aztecs and the Catholic ChurchLouise M. BurkhartChapter 48 Aztec Art After the Conquest in Mexico and in Museums AbroadRay Hern?ndez Dur?nChapter 49 The Aztecs and Their Descendants in the Contemporary WorldAlan R. Sandstrom