Codex Mendoza (1541)
Codex Mendoza (1541)
What are the big ideas?
Roles of women and men within Aztec society
Aztec Education
Aztec Birth and funeral rituals
The honors and tributes paid by the conquered, Textiles, foodstuffs, shields etc
The expansion of the early Aztec Empire
The forming of major city-states like Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tacloban
Who wrote it? Why?
It was commissioned by the first viceroy of new Spain to explain the recently colonized region's history to the king of Spain.
Indigenous Mexican scribes and Spanish interpreters
Whose perspectives are omitted/ challenged?
The perspectives of other indigenous civilizations within Mexico
Which questions can this answer?
How did the Aztec empire manage its city-states?
How did Aztec Education work?
What did Aztec warriors wear?
What were the funeral customs for the Aztecs?
How was daily life for the average Aztec citizen?
How did the Aztec empire manage to expand and grow?
SOURCES: https://www.curationist.org/editorial-features/article/codex-mendoza-and-mexican-history
Whose perspective does it reflect?
The Aztec civilization's
The indigenous peoples of Mexico both before and after colonization
What does it look like?
Pages of writing with a cursive like font
Very brightly coloured
Contains detailed and stylized illustrations of different aspects of Aztec culture
It is in manuscript format
What ideas are left out?
The history of other indigenous Mexican civilizations
Aztec medicine
How does the author communicate ideas?
and through detailed illustrations of events and daily life
Through writing
