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The ancient Maya were accomplished observers of the sky. This image shows Maya animal constellations found in the Paris Codex. Using their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, the ancient Maya developed one of the most accurate calendar systems in human history. The ancient Maya had a fascination with cycles of time. The most commonly known Maya cyclical calendars are the Haab, the Tzolk'in, and the Calendar Round. Aside from these, the Maya also developed the Long Count calendar to chronologically date mythical and historical events. The 13 baktun cycle of the Maya Long Count calendar measures 1,872,000 days or 5,125.366 tropical years. This is one of the longest cycles found in the Maya calendar system. This cycle ends on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012.

The Haab cycle is 365 days, and approximates the solar year. The Haab is a nineteen month calendar. The Haab is composed of 18 months made of 20 days, and one month, made of 5 days. This 5-day month is called "Wayeb." Thus, 18 x 20 + 5 = 365 days. This image shows the hieroglyphs corresponding to the nineteen months of the Haab calendar. The Maya represented some of these months using more than one glyph. These glyphs are referred to as "variants." Variants of the same glyph are framed in a turquoise background.

The Maya farmers of the Yucatan conduct offerings and ceremonies on the same months every year, following a 365-day Haab cycle. These ceremonies are called Sac Ha', Cha'a Chac and Wajikol. The Maya in the highlands of Guatemala perform special ceremonies and rituals during the Haab month of Wayeb, the short month of five days.

The Maya sacred calendar is called Tzolk'in in Yucatec Mayan and Chol Q'ij in K'iche' Mayan. This calendar is not divided into months. Instead, it is made from a succession of 20 day glyphs in combination with the numbers 1 to 13, and produces 260 unique days. Multiplying 20 x 13 equals 260 days. This image illustrates how the numbers 1 to 13, cycle through the 20 glyphs to form dates in the Tzolk'in calendar. Any such combination, such as 1 Imix', repeats only after 260 days have passed. The length of the Tzolk'in matches nine cycles of the Moon and the gestational period of humans. The Tzolk'in is also related to the movements of the zenith Sun and the growing cycle of corn.

Every 260 days, the Ajq'ijab' in the highlands areas of Guatemala, celebrate a new year ceremony called Wajxaqib' B'atz', and welcome another cycle in the sacred Chol Q'ij or Tzolk'in Maya calendar. During this ceremony, new calendar Day Keepers are initiated. This image shows Roberto Poz Pérez, K'iche', a calendar Day Keeper in a village near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He has been a calendar Day Keeper for more than 30 years.

Printed Tzolk'in calendars are popular in the Yucatán. The Chol Q'ij printed calendar is used daily by many people in the highlands of Guatemala.

The Calendar Round is made from the interweaving of the Tzolk'in and Haab calendars. In the Calendar Round, any given combination of a Tzolk'in day with a Haab day will not repeat itself, until 52 periods of 365 days have passed. The Maya believe that when a person reaches 52 years of age, they attain the special wisdom of an elder. The image shows a contemporary representation of the Calendar Round, interlocking the Tzolk'in (left) with the Haab (right).

Any historical or mythical event spanning more than 52 years required the ancient Maya to use an additional calendar, the Long Count. The Long Count calendar is a system that counts 5 cycles of time. This is very similar to the Gregorian calendar system that counts days, months, years, centuries and millennia. The Maya system also does this, but the difference is in the name and magnitude of the various cycles. Like Maya mathematics, the Long Count calendar system counts by 20s. The exception is in the third cycle, because 18 x 20, which equals 360, more closely approximates a Haab cycle or solar cycle of 365 days, rather than multiplying 20 x 20, which equals 400.

In addition to the five cycles, a complete Long Count calendar date includes Haab and Tzolk'in dates. For example, January 1, 2000 is written 12 baktun 19 katun 6 tun 15 uinal 2 kin 11 Ik' 10 K'ank'in using the Maya system, or 12.19.6.15.2 11 Ik' 10 K'ank'in. The Gregorian calendar counts days chronologically, beginning with the birth of Christ. The Maya Long Count calendar also counts days in chronological order, beginning with the mythical creation date of 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u. This date corresponds to August 11, 3114 BCE. This image shows the creation date drawn in hieroglyphs as it appears on Stela C in Quiriguá, Guatemala. On this date, the Sun was at its zenith at midday; and the Maya constellation of the Turtle (Orion) was in the nadir position, which is considered the Underworld.

The current Long Count calendar cycle will again reach 13.0.0.0.0, during the winter solstice, on 21 December, 2012 when the Calendar Round date will be 4 Ajaw 3 K'ank'in. The image shows three consecutive Long Count dates bracketing the winter solstice (from left to right) 20 December, 21 December, and 23 December, 2012.

A more detailed explanation of the Maya Calendar System can be found here.
Images used in this page and the videos can be downloaded in the Resources Section of the site.

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Click on image to view larger The ancient Maya were accomplished observers of the sky. This image shows Maya animal constellations found in the Paris Codex. Using their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, the ancient Maya developed one of the most accurate calendar systems in human history.

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Most people around the globe look at some form of a calendar every single day. Business executives check to see when their meetings are scheduled. The busy mom confirms soccer practices and piano lessons. College students ensure that their papers are turned in on time and they have plenty of time to study for exams. For the people of ancient Maya, calendars were just as important to daily life as they are to people today.

The Mayans originated in a region called Mesoamerica, or Middle America. This region lies in between Mexico and South America and was home to many other cultures, including the Aztec, Olmec, Teotihuacan and Toltec. The Mayans lived in what are today Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and Southern Mexico (Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo Tabasco and Chiapas).

Mayan history is broken into three periods:

Formative or Pre-classic - 2000 B.C. until A.D. 300

Classic - 300 until 900

Post-classic - 900 until the Spanish Inquisition in the 1400s

Mesoamericans began writing during the mid-Pre-classic period. The Mayans were the first to keep any sort of historical record, and the beginnings of the calendar were born. The Mayans used stelae, or stone monuments, to carve their civil events, calendars and astronomy knowledge. They also inscribed their religious beliefs and mythology on pottery.

The Mayans placed great value in recording their people's history. While they weren't the first civilization to ever use a calendar, they did devise four separate calendars that lasted for discrete time periods. Depending on their needs, the Mayans used different calendars or some combination of two calendars to record each event. Their Long Count calendar, which we'll learn about in more detail later, expires in 2012, leading some to believe that it coincides with an apocalyptic event.

But in order to decipher these different calendars, you'll first need a brief lesson in Mayan math.

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Most people around the globe look at some form of a calendar every single day. Business executives check to see when their meetings are scheduled. The busy mom confirms soccer practices and piano lessons.

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The Aztecs of ancient Mexico measured time with a sophisticated and interconnected triple calendar system which adhered to movements of the celestial bodies, provided a comprehensive list of important religious festivals and sacred dates, and gave each day a unique combination of a name and a number. In addition, both individual days and periods of days were given their own gods, highlighting the Aztec view that time and daily life was inseparable from religious beliefs. The date, every 52 years, when the calendars coincided exactly was regarded as particularly significant and auspicious.

The Aztec View of Time

In the modern world, time is often imagined as a straight line running from a distant past to an infinite future but not so for the Aztecs. As the historian R.F. Townsend describes,

Time for the Aztecs was full of energy and motion, the harbinger of change, and always charged with a potent sense of miraculous happening. The cosmogenic myths reveal a preoccupation with the process of creation, destruction and recreation, and the calendrical system reflected these notions about the character of time. (127)

For the Aztecs, specific times, dates and periods, such as one's birthday for example, could have an auspicious (or opposite) effect on one's personality, the success of harvests, the prosperity of a ruler's reign, and so on. Time was to be kept, measured, and recorded. It is significant that most major Aztec monuments and artworks conspicuously carry a date of some kind.

Tonalpohualli - 'Counting of the Days'

The Aztecs used a sacred calendar known as the tonalpohualli or 'counting of the days'. This went back to great antiquity in Mesoamerica, perhaps to the Olmec civilization of the 1st millennium BCE. It formed a 260-day cycle, in all probability originally based on astronomical observations. The calendar was broken down into units (sometimes referred to as trecenas) of 20 days with each day having its own name, symbol, patron deity and augury:

The 20-day group ran simultaneously with another group of 13 numbered days (perhaps not coincidentally the Aztec heaven had 13 layers). This meant that each day had both a name and a number (e.g.: 4-Rabbit), with the latter changing as the calendar rotated. After all possible combinations of names and numbers had been achieved, 260 days had passed. The number 260 has multiple significances: it is the approximate human gestation period, the period between the appearance of Venus, and the length of the Mesoamerican agricultural cycle.

In addition to names and numbers, each day was also given its own deity - one of thirteen day-lords (the levels of heaven) and one from nine night-lords (the levels of the underworld). These were taken from the Aztec pantheon and included Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, Xiuhtecuhtli, and Mictlantecuhtli. Daylight hours also had their own patron birds such as the hummingbird, owl, turkey, and quetzal, and one day had a butterfly patron. On top of that, each group of 13 days was ascribed its own god too. Finally, in yet another layer of meaning, the 20 days were divided into four groups based on the cardinal points: acatl (east), tecpatl (north), calli (west), and tochtli (south).

Every single day of the year had its own unique name and number combination and so could not be confused with any other.

This all seems rather complicated compared to a modern 7-day week of repeating names but it did have the advantage that every single day of the year had its own unique name and number combination and so could not be confused with any other. For this reason, it was possible for Aztec children to be given the name of the day on which they were born. Records were kept of the days in a book made of bark paper, called a tonalamatl. There was also a class of official diviners who interpreted which dates were the most auspicious for certain events such as marriages, and agricultural chores such as planting particular crops, and which days should be avoided.

Xiuhpohualli - 'Counting of the Years'

The second Aztec calendar was the xiuhpohualli or 'counting of the years' which was based on a 365-day solar cycle. It was this calendar which signified when particular religious ceremonies and festivals should be held. This calendar was divided into 18 groups of 20 days (each with its own festival). These 'months' were:

Some scholars begin the sequence with Izcalli and so Atlcahualo becomes the second 'month' and so on. There was also an extra period, the nemontemi (literally, 'nameless' days) tagged onto the end of the year which lasted 5 days. These still did not ensure a complete solar accuracy (achieved by our leap-year) and so the calendar did eventually slip out of synch with the seasons, which necessitated the moving of festivals and even re-naming of days. The nemontemi was a strange period of limbo when nobody dared do anything significant but waited for the renewal of the calendar proper. The whole year had a name, one of four possibilities in sequence: Rabbit, Reed, Flint Knife, and House. To distinguish between repeating years they were each given one of 13 numbers, e.g. 1-House was followed by 2-Rabbit. Thus, when all four names had been used 13 times, one full 52-year cycle had passed.

The Calendars in Unison

The tonalpohualli and xiuhpohualli calendars ran simultaneously, as Townsend describes,

They have often been explained as two engaged, rotating gears, in which the beginning day of the larger 365-day wheel would align with the beginning day of the smaller 260-day cycle every 52 years. This 52-year period constituted a Mesoamerican "century". (127)

The passing of one 52-year cycle ( xiuhmolpilli) to another was marked by the most important religious event of the Aztec world, the New Fire Ceremony, also known, appropriately enough, as the 'Binding of the Years' ceremony. This was when a human sacrifice was made to ensure the renewal of the sun. If the gods were displeased, then there would be no new sun and the world would end.

Every second 52-year cycle was even more important to the Aztecs as this was when the tonalpohualli and the 52-year cycle coincided exactly. Curiously, although the 52-year periods were important blocks in Aztec history, they were never given an individual name and all dates started afresh at the beginning of a new cycle. This, no doubt, reflected the Aztec cosmos mythology where the world and humanity were being constantly renewed in perpetual cycles of change.

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The Aztecs of ancient Mexico measured time with a sophisticated and interconnected triple calendar system which adhered to movements of the celestial bodies, provided a comprehensive list of important religious festivals and sacred dates, and gave each day a unique combination of a name and a number.

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NOVA | Cracking the Maya Code | Map of the Maya World (non-Flash) | PBS

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(non-Flash version) View a clickable map of the ancient Maya empire, from Chichen Itza in the north to Copan in the south.

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For the Maya, reliable food production was so important to their well-being that they closely linked the agricultural cycle to astronomy and religion. Important rituals and ceremonies were held in honour of specialised workers; from beekeepers to fishermen, and maize, the all-important Mesoamerican staple, even had its own god. An agricultural society, 90% of the Maya population were involved in farming. Management of land and natural resources brought a more dependable harvest and varied diet, enabling economic growth. This allowed for the flourishing of Maya culture but eventual over-exploitation, an ever-increasing population, and protracted periods of drought may have been factors in the ultimate collapse of the Maya civilization.

The Maize God

One of the most important Maya deities, perhaps even the most important, was the 'Young Maize God'. Typically portrayed with a head in the form of an ear of maize, he could appear in Maya mythology as the creator god. Descending to the underworld, he reappeared with the world tree which holds the centre of the earth and fixes the four cardinal directions. The world tree was, indeed, sometimes visualised as a maize plant. One of the names of the Maya maize god was Yum Caax ('Master of the Fields in Harvest') but another, as at Palenque, was Hun-Nale-Ye ('One Revealed Sprouting'). If any further proof were needed of the Maya reverence for maize, one need only consult the religious text, where the ancestors of humanity are described as being made of maize. Other important foodstuffs besides maize had their own gods, for example, Ek Chuah (aka God M) was considered the god of cacao and so vital was water to crops that the Maya rain god Chac gained special prominence, especially in times of drought.

To maximise productivity crops were planted together such as beans and squash in fields of maize.

Maya Agricultural Methods

The quality and quantity of agricultural land around Maya cities varied depending on their location. In the lowlands of the Peten and Puuk regions, for example, the soil was relatively fertile but restricted to small patches. A technique to increase soil fertility was the use of raised fields, especially near water courses and flood plains. At these locations stone- wall terraces were sometimes built to collect fertile silt deposits. Forests were cleared to make way for agriculture but such land quickly declined in fertility and necessitated slash-and-burn techniques to rejuvenate the land after two years of crops, which then requires on average a further 5-7 years to be ready for re-planting. A similar necessity to leave fields to rejuvenate was common in the highland sites, where plots had to be left empty for up to 15 years. To maximise productivity, crops were planted together such as beans and squash in fields of maize so that the beans could climb the maize stalks and the squash could help reduce soil erosion.

Those cities without access to large areas of land suitable for agriculture could trade with more productive cities. For example, slaves, salt, honey and precious goods such as metals, feathers, and shells were often traded for plant products. Just how larger plots of land were distributed, in what manner farmland passed on between generations, and the level of state management in agricultural production remain unclear. It is known, however, that many Maya private homes would have cultivated food in small gardens, especially vegetables and fruit. Once harvested, foodstuffs were stored in wooden cradles above ground and in subterranean sites.

Water management was another necessity, especially in certain Maya cities during the dry winters and hot summers. Water was collected in sinkholes created by collapsed caves and known as a tz'onot (corrupted to cenote in Spanish) and sometimes brought to fields using canals. Cisterns ( chultunob) were also excavated, typically bottle-shaped and built using wide plastered aprons around their entrances to maximise the collection of rainwater.

Maya Crops & Food

Maize ( milpa) was one of the most important crops but so too were root crops such as sweet manioc, beans, squash, amaranth, and chile peppers. Maize was typically boiled in water and lime, and eaten as a gruel mixed with chile pepper ( saka') for breakfast or made into a dough for baking on a flat-stone ( metate) as tortillas or flat cakes ( pekwah) and as tamales - stuffed and baked in leaves.

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Animals which were hunted include deer, peccary, turkeys, quails, ducks, curassow, guan, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, the tapir, and armadillo. Dogs were also fattened up on maize and eaten. Fish were caught using nets, traps, and lines, and, as in certain Asian cultures, trained cormorants were used to help catch fish: The cormorants' necks were tied so that they could not swallow the bigger fish, which they would then bring back to the fisherman. Meat and fish were typically cooked in stews along with various vegetables and peppers. Fish was either salted and dried or roasted over an open fire.

Fruits eaten included guava, papaya, avocado, custard apple, and sweetsop. A frothy chocolate drink and honey were also popular desserts. Another very popular drink was beer, known to the Maya as chih and made from fermented agave juice.

Important trees used by the Maya for their wood were the sapodilla and breadnut. The bottle gourd was cultivated to make containers from its hard but light-weight fruit shell. The copal was valued for its resin which was burned as incense and used for rubber. Finally, cotton was also cultivated, especially in the Yucatan province, famous for its fine textiles.

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For the Maya, reliable food production was so important to their well-being that they closely linked the agricultural cycle to astronomy and religion. Important rituals and ceremonies were held in honour of specialised workers; from beekeepers to fishermen, and maize, the all-important Mesoamerican staple, even had its own god.

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Maya Inca Aztec is an educational website; Art, History, and Culture. It combines accurate historical research with the photography of Warren Michael Stokes, and the illustrations of Mexico's Diego Rivera. We are proud to announce the addition of French vector graphic artist Gwendal Uguen.

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Aztec Calendar - Sun Stone - Crystalinks

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The calendar consisted of a 365-day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260-day ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52-year "century," sometimes called the "calendar round". The xiuhpohualli is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the tonalpohualli is considered to be the sacred calendar.

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The topography of the area greatly varied from volcanic mountains, which comprised the highlands in the South, to a porous limestone shelf, known as the Lowlands, in the central and northern regions. The southern portion of the Lowlands were covered by a rain forest with an average height of about 150 feet. Scattered savannas and swamps, or bajos, appeared sporadically, interrupting the dense forests. The northern Lowlands were also comprised of forests but they were drier than their southern counterparts, mainly growing small thorny trees. February to May was the dry season characterized by air that was intensely hot and uncomfortable. At this time of year, the fields had recently been cut and had to be burned in accordance with their slash and burn form of agriculture. The skies filled with a smoky grit, making the air even more unbearable until the rains came in late May to clear the murky atmosphere.

Many dangerous animals occupied this region of the peninsula including the jaguar, the caiman (a fierce crocodile), the bull shark, and many species of poisonous snakes. These animals had to be avoided as the Maya scavenged the forest for foods including deer turkey, peccaries, tapirs, rabbits, and large rodents such as the peca and the agouti. Many varieties of monkeys and quetzal also occupied the upper canopy. The climate of the Highlands greatly contrasted with that of the Lowlands as it was much cooler and drier.

Both the Highlands and the Lowlands were important to the presence of trade within the Mayan civilization. The lowlands primarily produced crops which were used for their own personal consumption, the principle cultigen being maize. They also grew squash, beans, chili peppers, amaranth, manioc, cacao, cotton for light cloth, and sisal for heavy cloth and rope.

The volcanic highlands, however, were the source of obsidian, jade, and other precious metals like cinnabar and hematite that the Mayans used to develop a lively trade. Although the lowlands were not the source of any of these commodities, they still played an important role as the origin of the transportation routes. The rainfall was as high as 160 inches per year in the Lowlands and the water that collected drained towards the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico in great river systems. These rivers, of which the Usumacinta and the Grijalva were of primary importance, were vital to the civilization as the form of transportation for both people and materials.

The Maya Culture

Contrary to popular beleif, the Mayan civilization was not one unified empire, but rather a multitude of separate entities with a common cultural background. Similar to the Greeks, they were religiously and artistically a nation, but politically sovereign states. As many as twenty such states existed on the Yucatan Peninsula, but although a woman has, on rare occasions, ascended to the ruling position, she has never acquired the title of 'mah kina'.

Mayan Writing

An elaborate system of writing was developed to record the transition of power through the generations. Maya writing was composed of recorded inscriptions on stone and wood and used within architecture. Folding tree books were made from fig tree bark and placed in royal tombs. Unfortunately, many of these books did not survive the humidity of the tropics or the invasion of the Spanish, who regarded the symbolic writing as the work of the devil.

Four books are known today:

The Dresden Codex
The Madud Codex
The Paris Codex
The Grolier Codex.

The priests followed the ruling class in importance and were instrumental in the recordings of history through the heiroglyphs. The two classes were closely linked and held a monopoly on learning, including writing. The heiroglyphs were formed through a combination of different signs which represented either whole words or single syllables. The information could be conveyed through inscriptions alone, but it was usually combined with pictures showing action to facilitate comprehension.

Political Organization

In both the priesthood and the ruling class, nepotism was apparently the prevailing system under which new members were chosen. Primogeniture was the form under which new kings were chosen as the king passed down his position to his son. After the birth of a heir, the kings performed a blood sacrifice by drawing blood from his own body as an offering to his ancestors. A human sacrifice was then offered at the time of a new king's installation in office. To be a king, one must have taken a captive in a war and that person is then used as the victim in his accession ceremony. This ritual is the most important of a king's life as it is the point at which he inherits the position as head of the lineage and leader of the city. The religious explanation that upheld the institution of kingship asserted that Maya rulers were necessary for continuance of the Universe.

Mayan Art

The art of the Maya, as with every civilization, is a reflection of their lifestyle and culture. The art was composed of delineation and painting upon paper and plaster, carvings in wood and stone, clay and stucco models, and terra cotta figurines from molds. The technical process of metal working was also highly developed but as the resources were scarce, they only created ornaments in this media. Many of the great programs of Maya art, inscriptions, and architecture were commissioned by Mayan kings to memorialize themselves and ensure their place in history. The prevailing subject of their art is not anonymous priests and unnamed gods but rather men and women of power that serve to recreate the history of the people. The works are a reflection of the society and its interaction with surrounding people.

One of the greatest shows of Mayan artistic ability and culture is the hieroglyphic stairway located at Copan. The stairway is an iconographical complex composed of statues, figures, and ramps in addition to the central stairway which together port ray many elements of Mayan society. An alter is present as well as many pictorial references of sacrifice and their gods. More importantly than all the imagery captured with in this monument, however, is the history of the royal descent depicted in the heiroglyphs and various statues. The figurine of a seated captive is also representative of Mayan society as it depicts someone in the process of a bloodletting ceremony, which included the accession to kingship. This figure is of high rank as depicted by his expensive earrings and intricately woven hip cloth. The rope collar which would usually mark this man as a captive, reveals that he is involved in a bloodletting rite. His genitals are exposed as he is just about to draw blood for the ceremony.

In the Indian communities, as it was with their Mayan ancestors, the basic staple diet is corn. The clothing worn is as it was in the past. It is relatively easy to determine the village in which the clothing was made by the the type of embroidery, color, design and shape. Mayan dialects of Qhuche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, and Mam are still spoken today, although the majority of Indians also speak Spanish.

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The ancient Maya civilization occupied the eastern third of Mesoamerica, primarily the Yucatan Peninsula. The topography of the area greatly varied from volcanic mountains, which comprised the highlands in the South, to a porous limestone shelf, known as the Lowlands, in the central and northern regions.

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The Maya Calendar was the center of Maya life and their greatest achievement. The Maya Calendar's ancestral knowledge guided the Maya's existence from the moment of their birth and there was little that escaped its influence.

This website is constantly growing and intends to provide a full view of Maya culture, being that the Maya world was centered on the calendar this name is more than appropriate for the Maya World Studies Center

Enter and enjoy, bookmark it and remember to return soon for new information is constantly being added. The Spanish version is here.

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Yucatan 's Maya World Studies Center - The Maya Calendar

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The Maya Calendar was the center of Maya life and their greatest achievement. The Maya Calendar's ancestral knowledge guided the Maya's existence from the moment of their birth and there was little that escaped its influence.

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Maya people had a class structured society. At the top were the nobles and priests. They had a middle class of craftsmen, traders, and warriors. At the bottom, as usually in ancient time, were the farmers and slaves.

The Maya did not use their own people as slaves. Slaves were captured from other tribes.

Archaeologists have pieced together a great deal about the ancient Maya daily life from the artifacts they have found in the ruins of Maya Cities. These artifacts include pottery, clay figures, huge statues, and the remains of pyramids and temples.

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Maya people had a class structured society. At the top were the nobles and priests. They had a middle class of craftsmen, traders, and warriors. At the bottom, as usually in ancient time, were the farmers and slaves. The Maya did not use their own people as slaves.

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The Maya could easily determine these dates, because at local noon, they cast no shadow. Zenial passage observations are possible only in the Tropics and were quite unknown to the Spanish conquistadors who descended upon the Yucatan peninsula in the 16th century. The Maya had a god to represented this position of the Sun called the Diving God.

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mayan kids interactive: games, flash, trivia, people, culture, history, arts, oddities. cirriculum. grade school, lesson, resource

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The Aztec skin was naturally brown or bronze-colored, but the fashionable shade for a woman's complexion was yellow. To achieve this effect the cheeks were either rubbed with a yellow earth or anointed with a cream containing axin, a waxy yellowish substance obtained by cooking and crushing the bodies of fat-producing insects. Travellers also used axin ointment as a salve to prevent the lips from cracking in frosty weather, and to protect the skin from the effect of cold.
Sahagun has left a description of the kind of make-up worn by fashion-conscious women, in particular by the courtesans who were the companions of the young warriors:

Their faces were painted with dry, colored powder;
faces were colored with yellow ochre, or with bitumen.
Feet were anointed with an unguent of burned copal
incense and dye. . . . Some cut their hair short, so
that their hair reached their noses. It was cut and
dyed with black mud~so did they place importance upon
their heads; it was dyed with indigo, so that their
hair shone. The teeth were stained with cochineal; the
hands and neck were painted with designs.

Perfumes, rose water and incense were popular, and a kind of chewing gum (made of chicle mixed with axin and bitumen) was used to sweeten the breath. As always, the appearance and manners of the young people did not meet with the approval of the older generation, and this father's admonition to his daughter has a familiar ring: 'Never make up your face nor paint it; never put red on your mouth to look beautiful. Makeup and paint are things that light women use~shameless creatures. If you want your husband to love you, dress well, wash yourself and wash your clothes.'

Men painted their faces and bodies on ceremonial occasions, but it is not certain whether the Aztecs followed the example of their Otomi neighbors who covered their arms and chests with tattooed designs. Sahagun reports, however, that the fifth month of the year was the time when incisions were made on the chests of children as a mark of citizenship or tribal identification.

Mirrors were made from pieces of burnished iron pyrites or from obsidian, a kind of black volcanic glass which was cut and polished into discs up to a foot in diameter. These were provided with wooden frames or with loops of cord so that they could be hung on the wall.
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The Aztec skin was naturally brown or bronze-colored, but the fashionable shade for a woman's complexion was yellow. To achieve this effect the cheeks were either rubbed with a yellow earth or anointed with a cream containing axin, a waxy yellowish substance obtained by cooking and crushing the bodies of fat-producing insects.

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In the tonalpohualli, the sacred Aztec calendar, Sunday March 21, 2021 is:

(Correlation: Alfonso Caso - Nicholson's veintena alignment [adjust])

The significance of this day

Day Malinalli (Grass) is governed by Patecatl as its provider of tonalli (Shadow Soul) life energy. This day signifies tenacity, rejuvenation, that which cannot be uprooted forever. Malinalli is a day for persevering against all odds and for creating alliances that will survive the test of time. It is a good day for those who are suppressed, a bad day for their suppressors.

The thirteen day period ( trecena) that starts with day 1-Xochitl (Flower) is ruled by Huehuecoyotl, Old Coyote, the Trickster, god of deception. This trecena signifies the sacred role of the jester: revealing the truth of the old ways by treating them as irreverantly as the gods do, the jester treats nothing as sacred and so points out the sacredness of everything. These are 13 days profoundly influenced by creativity and playfulness: music, dance, art and poetry are simply masks worn by the jester to tear away the away the masks of civilization. The trickster-jester-clown is the final mask of human beings: at one with the divine absurdity of the world, the mortal creator moves toward becoming an immortal force of nature. These are good days to make things; bad days to fear what others might think.

Jennifer Carpenter was born on day 13-Malinalli.

Aztec facts

In the years after the conquest of Mexico, the xiuhpohualli (solar calendar) became tied to the Julian calendar as used by the Spaniards. This effectively introduced a leap year to the Aztec calendar every four years (this site provides the pre-conquest calendar).

This website contains copyrighted material licensed under a Creative Commons License. See the About page.

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In the tonalpohualli, the sacred Aztec calendar, Sunday March 21, 2021 is: (Correlation: Alfonso Caso - Nicholson's veintena alignment [adjust]) Day Malinalli (Grass) is governed by Patecatl as its provider of tonalli (Shadow Soul) life energy. This day signifies tenacity, rejuvenation, that which cannot be uprooted forever.

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This page was created for ATID 410-1 at North Dakota State University.
Created by Chris Althoff, Randy Habeck, Brad Hegseth

The Aztecs

The Aztec culture originated in the four-corner area of present day Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. In the late twelfth century they began a slow migration southward until they reached Mexico (Figure 1) and gained prominence in the late fourteen hundreds. The Aztecs were an advanced civilization that built intricate cities such as Tenochtitlan, which was their island capital. The Aztecs were primarily a sedentary culture that relied on hunting and gathering. The Aztecs were dedicated to their religion. A showing of this dedication was human sacrifices in impressive ceremonies to the gods. Dress was an important part of Aztec religion and daily life. The Aztecs were a very advanced civilization for their time and through religious beliefs, government involvement, and family life they lived a full and productive life.
The Aztec empire was advanced for its time. It had an elaborate government and society that consisted of four classes. The four classes were nobles, commoners, serfs, and slaves. These classes showed a hierarchy of power with nobles being the most powerful and slaves being the least powerful. In government most of the office positions were hereditary, but one could obtain a high office by serving the emperor. Slaves were obtained through war and people who couldn't pay their debts were also enslaved. Commoners made up the majority of the population and survived by farming. Serfs worked the land for nobles.

Aztec economy was based upon agriculture, corn being the most important crop. They practiced slash-and-burn agriculture and many times achieved crop surpluses. These surpluses were stored and used during hard times. They also had elaborate irrigation systems, which allowed them to farm dry lands. They farmed shallow lakes by scooping up mud and forming islands called chinampas. These islands made for very fertile land that was effective for growing crops. At Tlateolco they had an extensive market that was the largest of its time. Interestingly the Aztecs had no money system; rather they traded goods and services.

Religion was a staple in the Aztec culture. The Aztecs worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses; each represented a different aspect of life. Ceremonies were very important to the Aztecs during the agricultural year ensuring good crops. During these ceremonies human sacrifices were given to the gods. Many of the sacrifices were war prisoners or children. They felt that human hearts and blood gave the gods strength. Large temples were built to perform these sacrifices.

Family was a major aspect of Aztec life. The men were primarily hunters and gatherers, while women mainly cooked and wove clothing. Young boys were educated by their fathers until the age of ten when they started school. Young girls stayed at home with their mothers and learned household chores. Common wedding ages were sixteen for women and twenty for men.

The Aztecs had many different kinds of food they enjoyed. Some of the most popular dishes were tacos, tortillas, and tamales. Other foods were seeds from the sage plant, which were used as cereal, spicy peppers, eggs, turkey, rabbit, dog, and other things. A delicacy for the Aztecs was green slime, which was scooped off the top of Lake Texococo. It was said to have tasted like cheese. For refreshment they often drank water and on special occasions they drank beer and the nobles enjoyed chocolate sweetened with honey.

The warm climate forced the Aztecs to develop clothing that was loose and flowing. Women wore sleeveless blouses and wraparound skirts. Men wore cloth around the hip area and a cloak over a shoulder. Nobles wore cotton clothing with much decoration. The poor wore clothing made from maguey fibers. During religious ceremonies masks were often worn.

For protection the Aztecs constructed simple houses. Their houses were constructed for purpose rather than beauty. In the highlands the houses were made of adobe. In the lowlands the walls were made of branches plastered with clay. The homes were not the only buildings that families had. They also had storehouses and small sweathouses, which were used for steam baths.

The Aztecs expressed themselves through music, arts, crafts, and the sciences. Music played an important role in Aztec religious rituals. The most important instruments were flutes, drums, and rattles. These were played along with chanting to help worship the gods. A popular way to pass the time was through art. Some of the Aztec art is still around today. One such piece is the Calendar Stone (Figure 2). This stone, which was twelve feet in diameter, represented the Aztec universe. It is thought that the hearts of human sacrifices were placed on this stone and presented to the gods. Feathers were used for head dresses, cloaks, and masks. Other crafts were woodcarving, pottery, and weaving. Showing their knowledge in the sciences, the Aztecs had a 365 day calendar that is accurate by today's scientific standards.

The Aztec communication skills were very well developed for their time. The Aztecs had their own language called Nahuatl. They wrote their thoughts through a system of writing known as pictographic writing. This consisted of small pictures that represented words. However, this form of writing was not developed enough to provide full expression of ideas, but it is considered very advanced for its time. Pictographic writing was mainly used by the highly educated to keep business records.

To conclude, the Aztecs were a highly civilized culture. Their extensive four-class society along with religion and government gave it a strong structure. The farming based economy gave the people an effective way to make a living. The music, arts, and crafts gave the Aztecs a means of expression. As one can see the Aztecs lead a structured and meaningful life that enabled the Aztec society to become a very advanced civilization.

Aztec Dress

Aztec dress plays an important role in Aztec culture. One reason they wore clothing was for protection. The Aztec army wore extensive forms of armor to protect them in times of war. They also clothed themselves because of modesty; this was the main reason for dress of the commoner. Dress also helped one to recognize social status and rank. For example, nobles dressed differently from serfs, commoners, and slaves. Aztecs also adorned themselves in special ways to conduct ceremonies such as sacrifices. Dress is an important area in many facets of Aztec culture and played a vital role in determining class, government rank, and religion.
Dress is a common way to distinguish between Aztec social classes. Within Aztec society there are four social classes: nobles, commoners, serfs, and slaves. Figure 1 shows the dress of many of the four classes in a crowded market. Nobles were the highest in rank and could easily be recognized by the manner that they dressed. To achieve noble status one could become a religious leader or inherit the status. A common material used in noble clothing was cotton. The dress included symbols of their high rank. For example, the more one's clothing was decorated the higher rank they were perceived to have. Gold was an important adornment to a noble's dress. Another accessory to noble dress was feathers on the head and on their robes. Bright colors were also a sign the individual was of high rank. The function of noble dress was adornment and modesty. They often dressed to draw attention to themselves. The noble dress also communicated the status they had obtained. Another function of noble dress was to show that they were involved in government and many times showed their role as religious leaders.

Commoners and serfs dressed much alike. They dressed with much less accessories and the colors used were less bright. For men of these ranks a loincloth was often all that was worn, while women often wore a simple cotton dress. The major reason for dress for these ordinary people was modesty. They also dressed for convenience and utility on the job. For example, they dressed differently for agricultural work and hunting.

Slaves often wore very little clothing. Slaves did wear jewels in holes in their face and had feathered mantles that were admired for their workmanship. A skirt of feathers completed their attire. Slave clothing didn't have much purpose. The main purpose was modesty and for general work functions. Figure 2 shows the feathered mantle of a slave.

The Aztec army dressed much differently than the rest of the culture. The main reason for this was for protection in times of war. The dress of higher warriors was very elaborate. Their bodies were covered with a close vest of quilted cotton. Although impenetrable the garment was very light. The wealthier chiefs often wore a thin layer of gold or silver instead of the vests. Covering this inner layer was a coat of extravagant feathers. Helmets were often made of wood and fashioned to look like the heads of animals. They also carried shields to fend off arrows and spears. The shields were made of woven reeds with feathers lining the outside. On the cover of some shields there were figures of some animals that represented different strengths that the Aztecs believed they received from these animals. Figure 3 shows a typical Aztec shield. Often the warriors waved a panache of feathers dusted with stones and precious metals. They often wore collars, bracelets and earrings of the same materials. Commoners wore body paint, which was the color of the banner of the chief who they followed. They wore very little clothing other than a simple girdle around the loins. Warriors could earn the right to wear costumes of animals for the amount of prisoners they capture. Figure 4 shows a warrior costume. As one can see, the main function of army dress was for protection. The dress allowed for proper protection against the weapons of the time. Another function of the dress was to show the chief that they followed. The Aztec warriors did this by painting the color of the chief's banner on their body. For upper soldiers dress also showed role and rank. While for common soldiers, it was used for modesty.

The Aztecs had many futile weapons they used to fight neighboring tribes. One such weapon was a wooden club edged with sharp pieces of obsidian. This weapon was called a macuahuitl and disabled an opponent often without killing the enemy. Aztecs also used bows and arrows and spears. A device called an atlatl increased the range and force of the spears. The weapons main function was to disable the opponent protecting the warrior.

Religion was another area where dress played an important role. Many ceremonies involved human sacrifices to one of their gods Tezcatlipoca. The people who were sacrificed were often painted red and black. The red symbolized blood and new life, while the black represented the evils they had done. The Aztec priests who conducted the sacrifices wore black robes stained with blood. Interestingly the Aztecs often ate portions of the sacrificed bodies believing they would receive strength and bravery. Often Aztecs wore masks to participate in sacred rituals. Figure 5 shows one such mask. The religious dress served the function of adornment and communicated the role of the individual in the ceremony.

Montezuma, one of the kings of the Aztec culture was an influential part of Aztec dress. Many of the things he wore were often passed down to lower cultures and represented power. Montezuma wore a mantle, which was white and blue called a tlimatli. This mantle folded over his shoulders and was held together by a green clasp called a chalchivitl. He wore precious gems set in gold on other parts of his dress. His feet were adorned with golden sandals. Montezuma's dress was mainly for adornment and to show his high-ranking status.

In the book Functions of Dress, Penny Storm defines aesthetics as a groups ideal of what is beautiful in form and style, their collective taste. The Aztecs aesthetics were extensive jewelry often made of gold or precious stones. Headdresses often made of feathers were also considered to be very beautiful. Cotton was a major fabric of Aztec clothing and was considered to be the best material. For women binding the hair with a cotton scarf was considered very elegant. Women's hair was often long and flowing. Aztecs overall view of beauty is that adornment along with tasteful colors makes for beautiful dress.

In conclusion, the way the Aztecs dressed is related to religion, social class, government roles, as well as aesthetics. The functions of the dress vary with every aspect of Aztec culture and everyday life. The way people dressed also allowed the people to tell the difference between the social classes. Aztec dress was also crucial in many religious ceremonies. To the Aztecs beauty was signified by lots of color, gold jewelry, and cotton clothing. Aesthetics was vital in choosing how one would dress. Aztec dress signified social status, government rank, and religious ceremonies.

References
Source 1: Bricker, Victoria R. (1981). Supplement To The Handbook Of Middle American Indians.
(Vol. 1). Aztecs. pg.193, 232, 230, 208-209.
Source 2: Bricker, Victoria R. (1992). Supplement To The Handbook Of Middle American Indians.
(Vol. 5). Aztecs. pg. 67-68, 63.

Source 3: de Marly, Diana. (1990). Dress in North America. (Vol. 1). pg. 5-11.
New York: Holmes & Meier.

Source 4: Microsoft Corp. (1997). Aztecs. Microsoft Encarta 1997.

Source 5: On-line Source. Early Aztec History. http://www.corona.bell.k12.ca.us/student/adrian/3.html.

Source 6: Storm, Penny. (1987). Functions Of Dress. pg. 237-238, 288. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Source 7: World Book Encyclopedia. Aztecs. 1996 Edition. pg. 999-1004.

Email: bhegseth@badlands.nodak.edu

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This page was created for ATID 410-1 at North Dakota State University. Created by Chris Althoff, Randy Habeck, Brad Hegseth The Aztec culture originated in the four-corner area of present day Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. In the late twelfth century they began a slow migration southward until they reached Mexico (Figure 1) and gained prominence in the late fourteen hundreds.

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In the decade before the Spanish arrived in Mexico, Aztec Emperor Montezuma II and his people were filled with a sense of foreboding. A series of evil omens had foretold of calamities to come. A fiery comet crossed the sky. The temple of Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, burst into flames. The Lake of Mexico boiled and rose, flooding into houses. A weeping woman passed by in the middle of the night, crying "My children, we must flee far away from this city!" Fishermen discovered a bird that wore a strange mirror in the crown of its head. Montezuma looked into the mirror and saw a distant plain, with people making war against each other and riding on the backs of animals resembling deer.

An agitated Montezuma demanded that his soothsayers explain the meaning of these dire signs and was told that they prophesied the destruction of his kingdom. In fact, Montezuma had reason to be fearful - the Spanish had settled in Hispaniola and Cuba and were making their way toward his empire.

The Spanish had made several expeditions to the nearby Yucatan in 1517 and had returned with wonderous tales of a high-cultured Mayan civilization and gold riches. The news of these discoveries made an electrifying impression on the Spanish colonists in Cuba. Among these was Hernán Cortés, Chief Magistrate of Santiago. The Spanish governor of Cuba, Diego de Velásquez, told Cortés that he would provide two or three ships if Cortés would find the rest of the money, and lead the army. Cortés agreed and on October 23, 1518, Velásquez appointed him "captain-general" of a new expedition to the Yucatan.

Every night there arose a sign like a tongue of fire.

A woman was heard weeping,"My children, we must flee far away from this city!"

Montezuma sees fighting men in the distance, riding the backs of deer.
Credit: "General History of the Things of New Spain" (Florentine Codex), Books I-IX and XII, translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble. Santa Fe, New Mexico and Salt Lake City: The School of American Research and the University of Utah Press. Used courtesy of the University of Utah Press.

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P B S : C o n q u i s t a d o r s - C o r t é s

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The Conquistadors is a four-part series airing on PBS in Spring 2001. The Conquistadors website explores the adventures of Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Fracisco de Orellana and Cabeza de Vaca in the New World as Michael Wood retraces their journeys in modern-day South America and the southern United States.

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Modern History Sourcebook: This text is part of the
A Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico and made his way to the Aztec capital. Miguel LeonPortilla, a Mexican anthropologist, gathered accounts by the Aztecs, some of which were written shortly after the conquest.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook. (c)Paul Halsall Aug 1997
Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortés
When Motecuhzoma [Montezuma] had given necklaces to each one, Cortés asked him: "Are you Motecuhzoma? Are you the king? Is it true that you are the king Motecuhzoma?"
And the king said: "Yes, I am Motecuhzoma." Then he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came forward, bowed his head low and addressed him in these words: "Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy.
"The kings who have gone before, your representatives, guarded it and preserved it for your coming. The kings Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizoc and Ahuitzol ruled for you in the City of Mexico. The people were protected by their swords and sheltered by their shields.
"Do the kings know the destiny of those they left behind, their posterity? If only they are watching! If only they can see what I see!
"No, it is not a dream. I am not walking in my sleep. I am not seeing you in my dreams.... I have seen you at last! I have met you face to face! I was in agony for five days, for ten days, with my eyes fixed on the Region of the Mystery. And now you have come out of the clouds and mists to sit on your throne again.
"This was foretold by the kings who governed your city, and now it has taken place. You have come back to us; you have come down from the sky. Rest now, and take possession of your royal houses. Welcome to your land, my lords! "
When Motecuhzoma had finished, La Malinche translated his address into Spanish so that the Captain could understand it. Cortés replied in his strange and savage tongue, speaking first to La Malinche: "Tell Motecuhzoma that we are his friends. There is nothing to fear. We have wanted to see him for a long time, and now we have seen his face and heard his words. Tell him that we love him well and that our hearts are contented."
Then he said to Motecuhzoma: "We have come to your house in Mexico as friends. There is nothing to fear."
La Malinche translated this speech and the Spaniards grasped Motecuhzoma's hands and patted his back to show their affection for him....

Massacre in the Main Temple
During this time, the people asked Motecuhzoma how they should celebrate their god's fiesta. He said: "Dress him in all his finery, in all his sacred ornaments."
During this same time, The Sun commanded that Motecuhzoma and Itzcohuatzin, the military chief of Tlatelolco, be made prisoners. The Spaniards hanged a chief from Acolhuacan named Nezahualquentzin. They also murdered the king of Nauhtla, Cohualpopocatzin, by wounding him with arrows and then burning him alive.
For this reason, our warriors were on guard at the Eagle Gate. The sentries from Tenochtitlan stood at one side of the gate, and the sentries from Tlatelolco at the other. But messengers came to tell them to dress the figure of Huitzilopochtli. They left their posts and went to dress him in his sacred finery: his ornaments and his paper clothing.
When this had been done, the celebrants began to sing their songs. That is how they celebrated the first day of the fiesta. On the second day they began to sing again, but without warning they were all put to death. The dancers and singers were completely unarmed. They brought only their embroidered cloaks, their turquoises, their lip plugs, their necklaces, their clusters of heron feathers, their trinkets made of deer hooves. Those who played the drums, the old men, had brought their gourds of snuff and their timbrels.
The Spaniards attacked the musicians first, slashing at their hands and faces until they had killed all of them. The singers-and even the spectators- were also killed. This slaughter in the Sacred Patio went on for three hours. Then the Spaniards burst into the rooms of the temple to kill the others: those who were carrying water, or bringing fodder for the horses, or grinding meal, or sweeping, or standing watch over this work.
The king Motecuhzoma, who was accompanied by Itzcohuatzin and by those who had brought food for the Spaniards, protested: "Our lords, that is enough! What are you doing? These people are not carrying shields or macanas. Our lords, they are completely unarmed!"
The Sun had treacherously murdered our people on the twentieth day after the captain left for the coast. We allowed the Captain to return to the city in peace. But on the following day we attacked him with all our might, and that was the beginning of the war
From Miguel LeonPortilla, ed., The Brohen Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Boston: Beacon Press, 1962), pp. 6466, 129131.

The Site Concept and Design: created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 12 April 2019 [ Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action. Paul Halsall Curriculum vitae]

©

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Modern History Sourcebook: This text is part of the A Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico and made his way to the Aztec capital. Miguel Leon­Portilla, a Mexican anthropologist, gathered accounts by the Aztecs, some of which were written shortly after the conquest.

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"Mexicolore has probably reached more people on the planet than all of the courses on Mexico taught at universities added together. It has been a wonderful success that has brought the magic of Mesoamerica to untold numbers of people..." (Dr. Alan R.

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Kevin L. Callahan

The Automatic Language Translator
(Espanol,Deutsche,Francaise,etc)Kevin L. Callahan
University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology
This page supplies information regarding Mesoamerican Civilizations.
The primary groups addressed are the
Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec.

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VIEW LOOKING SOUTH FROM THE NORTH PLATFORM, MAIN PLAZA
MONTE ALBAN, VALLEY OF OAXACA, SOUTWESTERN MEXICO (ZAPOTEC)

Copyrighted photograph taken by Clive Ruggles
Valley of Oaxaca Lansat Photo(Web Credit: Joe Sneed,CSM)
History of the Zapotecs and Monte Alban - Celerina Martinez and Rebecca Guerrero

Email: call0031@tc.umn.edu

1997 Kevin L. Callahan
All written articles are original works. May be cited and freely used for educational purposes.

This is just one of 30,000,000 Internet sites.
Graphics and photos are copyrighted byIvan Van Laningham and Clive Ruggles.

1997 call0031@tc.umn.edu

This Archaeology on the Net site owned by Kevin L. Callahan.
[Previous |Next |Next 5 Sites | Random Site | List Sites ] This website was first begun on June 10, 1997.

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Kevin L. Callahan The Automatic Language Translator (Espanol,Deutsche,Francaise,etc)Kevin L. Callahan University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology This page supplies information regarding Mesoamerican Civilizations.The primary groups addressed are the Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec.