Law And The Transformation Of Aztec Culture, 1500-1700

Based on a wide array of local-level Spanish and Nahuatl documentation and an intensive analysis of seventy-three lawsuits over property involving Indians resident in Tenochtitlan/Mexico City that were heard by the Real Audiencia between 1536 and 1700, this work clearly shows that legal documentation offers important clues to underlying cultural assumptions, attitudes and perceptions. While most colonial "Aztec" studies have focused on macro-level structural changes, this book brings a highly empirical focus to everyday life. This clearly written, even-handed treatment of the late pre-Hispanic and early colonial periods will be of interest to students of colonialism, law, gender, and social theory as well as to historical and anthropological specialists in pre-Hispanic and colonial Mesoamerica.

First sentence: The court records of the Real Audiencia are a valuable source of information about the social and cultural history of the indigenous peoples of early colonial central Mexico.

Year

1995

Language

English

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Editions

2

Pages

285

ISBN

9780806136851

Data source: Wikidata