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Aztec political economy: a new conceptual frame

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Kenneth G.Hirth. The Aztec economic world: merchants and markets in ancient Mesoamerica. 2016. xviii+382 pages, 50 b&w illustrations, 20 tables. New York: Cambridge University Press; 978-1-107-14277-0 hardback $125.

Deborah L.Nichols, Frances F.Berdan & Michael E.Smith (ed.). Rethinking the Aztec economy. 2017. vi+310 pages, b&w illustrations, tables. Tucson: University of Arizona Press; 978-0-8165-3551-4 hardback $65.

Deborah L.Nichols & EnriqueRodríguez-Alegría (ed.). The Oxford handbook of the Aztecs. 2017. xxix+748 pages, several b&w illustrations. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 978-0-19-934196-2 hardback £97.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2017

Gary M. Feinman*
Affiliation:
Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605–2496, USA (Email: gfeinman@fieldmuseum.org)

Extract

For those in search of current perspectives on the Aztec with a focus on matters economic, I heartily recommend a deep dive into these three volumes. Each book offers an insightful vantage on what we presently know about this pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican empire, as well as how new discoveries over the last 60–70 years force serious rethinking of both the long-term history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and key tenets that underpin pre-industrial political economies more broadly. Empires were a relatively rare phenomenon in the pre-industrial world, especially in the ancient Americas, and few have been so skilfully studied through a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates both historical texts and archaeology.

Type
Book reviews
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017 

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References

Peterson, F. 1959. Ancient Mexico: an introduction to the pre-Hispanic cultures. New York: Capricorn.Google Scholar
Wolf, E.R. 1959. Sons of the Shaking Earth. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Wolf, E.R. (ed.) 1976. The Valley of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.Google Scholar