Aztec Architecture: Did you mean...?

Alure (Wall Walk) The walkway along the higher and interior part of a wall which often gives access to the higher floors of towers within the wall. Typically protected by battlements. Apse A semicircular projecting part of a building...

This map illustrates the origins and territorial expansion of the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica between the 14th and 16th centuries. Emerging from a network of Nahua-speaking city-states in central and southern Mexico, the empire rose to dominate...

The Aztec civilisation spanned from around 1300 CE until 1521, and at its greatest extent, the empire covered most of Northern Mesoamerica. Although we refer to these peoples as ‘Aztecs,’ that is not what they called themselves. They were...

A map indicating the maximum extent of the Aztec civilization which flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE in what is now Mexico. The three major cities which formed the Aztec Triple Alliance were Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan.

Texcoco (aka Tezcoco or Tetzcoco), located near the eastern shores of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, was the capital of the Acolhua people. It was a major power in the Aztec period and a member of the Triple Alliance along with Tenochtitlan...

The Aztec Sun Stone (also known as the Calendar Stone) is a representation of the five eras of the sun from Aztec mythology. The stone was part of the architectural complex of the Temple Mayor of Tenochtitlán and dates to c. 1427 CE. The...

Pulque is an alcoholic drink which was first drunk by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs and other cultures in ancient Mesoamerica. Similar to beer, it is made from the fermented juice or sap of the maguey plant (Agave americana). In the Aztec language...

A detail of the celebrated Aztec double-headed serpent. It is made from wood covered in turquoise mosaic, spondylus (red) and conch (white) shell. The eyes would have been rendered with inlay, probably of iron pyrite. The piece is believed...

Medieval English churches differed in size and layout. Their original and evolving role(s), financial and material resources, and architectural fashions helped determine variability. However, their look ultimately grew from a constant symbiosis...

A scene from the 16th-century Florentine Codex depicting Aztec musicians. Music and dance were an important element of Aztec education and public life.