The pre-Hispanic history of Mexico is contained in the numerous pictorial codices or painted hieroglyphic books produced by the Aztecs, the Maya, the Mixtecs, and others. Unfortunately, very few pre-Co... read more

The Internet is an invaluable source of information but it can also be a source of misinformation and great confusion. Recently I was accused of "plagiarizing" some of my material from the Internet. Th... read more

Perhaps no people on earth have been so maligned on the one hand and so highly praised on the other as the ancient Aztecs of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. You don't have to be a Mesoamerican scholar to have he... read more

Our main sources of information on pre-Hispanic religion in Mesoamerica include archaeological monuments and Classic murals, as well as Landa's Relación and ethnological reports of surviving re... read more

In Part One we looked at a new interpretation of ancient Aztec literature, which, if correct, calls into question, perhaps even invalidates, much of the previous research. To recapitulate: the current ... read more

In writing of the Persian Wars, Herodotus, our earliest Greek historian of note, declared that his purpose in writing of the attempts by the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes to invade Greece was to ensu... read more

Decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic system of writing represents perhaps the greatest breakthrough in unravelling the history of the ancient Maya. Estimates vary on the actual percentage of the glyph... read more

"Classical" is one of those terms often bandied about with little or no comprehension of its original meaning. As a graduate of two Classics departments, the University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, and ... read more

History is generally written from the standpoint of the victors or the dominant society. Consequently the other side of the story is hardly ever told in full. This is especially true of Mexico, althoug... read more

Most of us take time and space for granted, unless we happen to be philosophers or scientists professionally concerned with such matters. But even scientists cannot agree entirely on the definition of ... read more

The Maya, Aztecs, and other peoples of ancient Mexico had a very strong sense of their own history, which they went to great lengths to preserve. But in some ways, their concept of history differed rad... read more

The Books of Chilam Balam are indigenous Maya chronicles written in northern Yucatan during the century or so following the Spanish Conquest. The surviving texts we have are copies of the origin... read more

The most extensive documentation for the native historical tradition in Mesoamerica comes from the Valley of Mexico and surrounding area. This is hardly surprising, for the main thrust of the Spanish C... read more

How do we know what we know (or think we know) about the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Guatemala? A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, especially when it comes to ancient Mexico. With a ... read more

Mexico is an endlessly fascinating country for those who take the time and trouble to delve a little more deeply into the mysteries of our "Unknown Mexico." Dedicated amateurs and professional scholars... read more

Controversy is a fact of life. Complete agreement on any subject is hardly to be expected. The study of Maya hieroglyphs is no exception. In fact, scholarly differences of opinion can be just as viciou... read more

The history of Mexico has generally been written by outsiders, Spanish Conquistadors, Catholic missionaries, and most recently by archaeologists and anthropologists. Consequently Western ideas of histo... read more

In previous articles we looked at some Aztec lyric poems contained in the Cantares Mexicanos and other manuscript collections. The current controversy over the correct translation and interpreta... read more

In the last column we looked briefly at the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic writing system and some of the modern myths about the ancient Maya propagated by certain popular writers... read more

When the Spaniards first arrived in Mexico, they were completely mystified by the religious practices of the Aztecs, Maya, and other indigenous peoples with whom they came in contact. Even the hardened... read more

One man's history is another man's myth. Voltaire The Maya and the Aztecs, among others, developed many different forms of literature long before the arrival of the Spaniards. They were also ... read more

Our main sources of information on pre-Hispanic religion in Mesoamerica include archaeological monuments and Classic murals, as well as Landa's Relación and ethnological reports of surviving religious... read more

It is generally assumed that the idea of other universes is the unique product of "post-modern" thinking based on the Theory of Relativity and quantum mechanics. But the ancient Aztecs and Maya probabl... read more

An article by Mr. Morgan Bedford entitled "New Spain's Fifty Magical Years (1492-1542)" appeared in the July, 1999, issue of the Ojo Del Lago. A more accurate title would have been "New Spain's Fifty Y... read more

Prospective: Dateline-San Francisco Ixtacamaxtitlan September 29, l998   Part I In February 1519 Hernan Cortez and his small army of adventurers set sail from Cuba on one of the... read more