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Interview: Costa Rica's Jade Museum
The Jade Museum (Spanish: Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina) in San José, Costa Rica houses the world's largest collection of ancient jade from the Americas. With nearly 7,000 pieces in its collection, the artifacts at the Museum...
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Aztec Art
The Aztec culture, centred at the capital of Tenochtitlan, dominated most of Mesoamerica in the 15th-16th centuries. With military conquest and trade expansion, the art of the Aztecs also spread, helping the Aztec civilization achieve a cultural...
Definition
Toltec Civilization
The Toltec civilization flourished in ancient central Mexico between the 10th and mid-12th centuries. Continuing the Mesoamerican heritage left to them by earlier cultures, the Toltecs built an impressive capital at Tollan. Ultimately, they...
Definition
Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli (pron. Huit-zi-lo-pocht-li) or 'Hummingbird of the South' or 'Blue Hummingbird on the Left' was one of the most important deities in the Aztec pantheon and for the Méxica he was the supreme god. He was the god of the sun and...
Definition
Templo Mayor - The Aztecs' Greatest Temple
The Templo Mayor or Great Temple (called Hueteocalli by the Aztecs) dominated the central sacred precinct of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. Topped by twin temples dedicated to the war god Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc it was a...
Definition
Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan (also spelled Tenochtitlán), located on an island near the western shore of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico, was the capital city and religious centre of the Aztec civilization. The traditional founding date of the city was 1345...
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Chinampas - Mexico's Human-Made Agricultural Islands
Chinampas are human-made islands built in shallow lakebeds that have fed the people of Mesoamerica and shaped local ecosystems for over a thousand years. Sometimes referred to as 'floating gardens,' these agricultural feats of engineering...
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Palenque
Located in the foothills of the Chiapas altiplano of modern Mexico, Palenque was an important Maya city which flourished between c. 600 and 750 CE. The name Palenque derives from the Spanish, meaning 'fortified place', but the original Maya...
Definition
Xochipilli
Xochipilli or the 'Prince of Flowers' was the Mesoamerican god of summer, flowers, pleasure, love, dancing, painting, feasting, creativity and souls. He is a benevolent manifestation of Piltzintecuhtli, the young sun god who was himself a...
Definition
Texcoco
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...