Fifth Sun

Camilla Townsend has made the extraordinary happen. She has written a chronological history of the Mexica (Aztecs) from their origins into the sixteenth century relying principally on documents that they themselves generated. Bookshelves of those of us who study the Mexica are replete with titles that begin The Aztecs, followed by a colon. Nearly all of these are written by scholars who are not historians. These books seem to capture the Mexica at a moment in time and discuss the various aspects of their culture. With the exception of Nigel Davies's 1973 book, none traces the Mexica from their origins, through the Spanish invasion, and into the period of colonial domination. Certainly, none relies heavily on documentation written in Nahuatl by Native peoples. Until now.The title of Townsend's book is taken from one of the Mexica's origin stories, that the world has gone through four incarnations before the present era. We live under the fifth sun's leadership to run the cosmos. This provides an excellent point of departure for discussing the history of a people who had a completely different view of history than we have in twenty-first-century postindustrial Western culture. Townsend outlines the development and production of annals-style histories, which recount in pictograms and then alphabetic writing the events of years past. These histories are the basis, starting point, and inspiration for her book. She emphasizes the episodic, directional nature of these accounts. But she does not explore how also in the annals past events were purposely brought forward while events of the writer's present were imposed back on history to reinforce the cyclical nature of Mexica beliefs about certain aspects of time.Townsend begins with a fine introduction into the broad concepts of Mexica history and how we happen to have the rich corpus of documentation written in their language. The book's appendix details the important Nahuatl-language documents that have served as the basis of her work. Many of these are also pictographic, with Nahuatl glosses for the images. The observant reader will notice that in this review the word Mexica appears frequently, with only a few notices of Aztecs. Although not reflected in the book's title, she has adopted the practice of referring to the people known as the Aztecs by the name that they used for themselves, Mexica. When referring to the large cultural group who shared the Nahuatl language, she uses Nahua. The term Aztec is used sparingly, only when discussing later perceptions regarding the people when scholars and others had adopted that name.As noted, the book is chronological, although it contains numerous digressions in order to provide the context necessary for understanding why things happened the way that they did. Although the first chapter deals with the origins of the Mexica and their migration from the northwest into the central basin, Townsend begins her narrative with a turning point for the Mexica as a unique people in the central basin, a nation to be reckoned with. The documentary basis for her work is not continuous but rather episodic. Thus her approach maximizes the utility of the material available.The book traces the Mexica through eight periods, from their emergence as a nation before 1200 until the early seventeenth century and into the lives of the second generation of Native people after the Spanish invasion. One chapter is devoted to the invasion itself. Each chapter opens with a story, an episode from the Mexica's annals, that serves as the point of departure for the exposition of that period's events and themes. For example, the first chapter narrates the tales and legends of the Mexica as heard and understood by a young noblewoman, Shield Flower, a descendant of the migrants from the northwestern arid regions who would become known as the Mexica. Reflecting on Shield Flower's world, Townsend narrates the various historical events of the migration and early settlement in the central basin.Each chapter explores an aspect of Mexica life as reflected through the Nahua story providing the chapter's touchstone. For example, through the stories of Itzcoatl and Huitzilihuitl Townsend explores Mexica notions of kingship, slavery, and social status. By operating in this manner she covers all the topics usually contained in the asynchronous textbooks written by anthropologists, archaeologists, and art historians. But she considers the historical context for these topics. Just as important, her narrative does not end with the invasion by the Spanish. Rather, Townsend continues on through two generations of Mexicas and Nahuas under colonial domination.Camilla Townsend has provided scholars and the reading public with a wonderful history of the Mexica. By relying closely on Native texts, she has avoided the tropes normally associated with books on the precontact populations of Mexico. The writing itself is lyrical. This is not a dry recitation of rulers, conquered peoples, and strange deities but an absorbing, almost poetic story about real people. Everyone with any interest at all in Mexico should read this work

Aesthetics · Amateur · American history · Ancient history · Annals · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Literature · Period (music) · Style (visual arts) · Townsend · Classics · History · Latin American history and culture

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