The pre-conquest aztec state a comparison between progressive evolutionists and other historical interpretations

Resumen

It is fortunate for the researcher that the Aztecs possess such a strong historical consciousness that they recorded the "historical events of each year ... by day, month and hour". Therefore, the earliest sources on the condition of the Aztec state in the preconquest era are derived from the writings of the Aztecs themselves. These historical documents extend far back into the past and delve deeply into the traditions, customs and religions of the Nahua people. It was the great leader Itzcoatl who was the fourth ruler and actually the first great Aztec conqueror to whom we are indebted for many of the surviving pieces of data. His purpose, however, was not one which historians would approve. In the earliest known documents the Aztecs were assigned a rather secondary role. Under the rule of Itzcoatl, however, the entire accumulation of historical manuscripts were burned, "for it containeth many falsehoods" (Anderson and Dibble, 1954, p. 191). Itzcoatl was a great statesman as well as a warrior of renown. At the beginning of his reing he had Aztec history rewritten to conform with the multiple viewpoints of religious imperialism and nationalism which he favored. In the process of the rewriting of the history of the Nahua peoples, the position of the Aztecs was changed to one of ascendency. The new histories demonstrated that the Aztecs were the oldest and certainly the most illustrious families in the land. It was the purpose of Itzcoatl to have the new histories stress the notion that the Aztees were a superior people destined to rule over all others