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The Aztec: Man and Tribe
1961. Revised Edition. New American Library., 224 pages, Illustrated. 8 oz. (7 x 4.25 x .5 inches Paperback). The Man and Tribe by Victor Wolfgang Von Hagen and Alberto Beltran (Illustrator). An Archaeological HistoryMexico
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
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68 people want to read
About the author
Victor Wolfgang von Hagen
145 books14 followersVictor Wolfgang von Hagen (February 29, 1908 - March 8, 1985) was a US-American explorer, archaeological historian, anthropologist, and travel writer who traveled the South Americas with his wife, Christine. Mainly between 1940 and 1965, he published a large number of widely acclaimed books about the ancient people of the Inca, Maya, and Aztecs.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 15, 2025
Molto interessante e completo, adatto a chi è appassionato di archeologia e antropologia: ogni aspetto dalla politica, ala società, all'alimentazione, ai rapporti interpersonali, ai famosi sacrifici, ai rapporti internazionali, etc viene trattato approfonditamente permettendo a un profano di avvicinarsi a questo popolo.
January 8, 2021
I found this book at a thrift store, and it ended up being not only the best book I’ve ever found at a thrift store, but an outstanding book in general. Victor von Hagen was an archaeologist, and this book on the Aztecs relies heavily on his own work, in addition to the work of many others.
There are eight pages of magnificent photographs of Aztec ruins, architecture, sculpture, and art here, most of which were taken by the author. Additionally, there are 55 illustrations throughout the book, many reproduced from the Aztec codices. These illustrations are excellent supplemental material, showing what Aztec life was like from every aspect. A subject like this demands a lot of visual aid.
The book is broken up into four sections that read eloquently, in an accessible style that informs and also shares the author’s enthusiasm and expertise in the subject. His knowledge is both deep and broad, offering many first-hand accounts from the first Europeans to encounter the Aztecs, as well as countless excerpts and citations from experts and documents throughout history, as well as his own findings and insights. He appears to treat the Aztecs fairly and objectively, pointing to their strengths and their accomplishments and their variously unique and interesting cultural traits, while also not shying away from their violence, their primitivism compared to some other tribes, and explaining the factors that set them apart.
The book covers the history of the people of Mexico before and during the time of the Aztecs, where the Aztecs came from, examinations of pre-Aztec cultures, how they evolved, how they expanded, and what Mexico was like in prehistory all the way up to the Middle Ages. From this point forward, the book is a very close look at every facet of Aztec culture and life, put together in as coherent and complete a way imaginable, given the unfortunate small amount of surviving elements of their world.
He traces the Aztec origins, their place in history and in the context of other civilizations, then explains their appearance and dress, their language and ways of speaking, their food and how they prepared meals, their agriculture, their clan organization, their home and their marriage, their relationships with one another and with other tribes, their societal structure and day to day living, the roles everyone took on, their taxes and the state, the surprisingly interesting bread making, justice, medicine, their treatment of the dead and their fear of death, their capital Tenochtitlan and their last Chief Speaker before the arrival of the Spanish, Moctezuma II, and their various accomplishments in art, sculpture, jewelry, feather weaving, pottery, weaponry and warfare, their calendar, their superstitions and myths, their roads, their merchants, their communication and writing and paper, and the reasons they were not considered an empire like the Incas and Mayas, and a brief but tragic look at their final days before they were conquered by Cortes.
See? Virtually everything is here. And every bit of it is absorbing and interesting to learn, each chapter giving attention to a few related aspects of the Aztec world. Victor von Hagen infects you with the fascination of Aztec culture on a primal level, giving relevance and substance to every bit of knowledge he shares, and frequently providing a unique perspective on the encyclopedic stream of information, delivered at the perfect pace. And yet, so much has been lost to history, because the Aztecs did not keep detailed historical records for centuries, and because their conquerors did not preserve much of what they could instead destroy. We know the names and exploits of their past rulers for some time, but there is much that will remain unknown forever.
Did you know that the Aztecs believed that without the benevolent gods’ favor, humankind would be destroyed, and that the only way to gain the favor of their gods, like the Hummingbird Wizard, was to feed them human hearts, and that the best way to attain a healthy supply of fresh human hearts was with sacrifices from captured enemies? And so this is why the Aztecs believed war was always necessary, not to destroy their enemies, but to have a constant supply of prisoners from whom they could take hearts to nourish the gods. They believed they were protecting themselves and humanity from angry gods.
I didn’t know that. I didn’t know most of the things I learned here. What a great time I’ve had being steeped in Aztec history these last few days.
There are eight pages of magnificent photographs of Aztec ruins, architecture, sculpture, and art here, most of which were taken by the author. Additionally, there are 55 illustrations throughout the book, many reproduced from the Aztec codices. These illustrations are excellent supplemental material, showing what Aztec life was like from every aspect. A subject like this demands a lot of visual aid.
The book is broken up into four sections that read eloquently, in an accessible style that informs and also shares the author’s enthusiasm and expertise in the subject. His knowledge is both deep and broad, offering many first-hand accounts from the first Europeans to encounter the Aztecs, as well as countless excerpts and citations from experts and documents throughout history, as well as his own findings and insights. He appears to treat the Aztecs fairly and objectively, pointing to their strengths and their accomplishments and their variously unique and interesting cultural traits, while also not shying away from their violence, their primitivism compared to some other tribes, and explaining the factors that set them apart.
The book covers the history of the people of Mexico before and during the time of the Aztecs, where the Aztecs came from, examinations of pre-Aztec cultures, how they evolved, how they expanded, and what Mexico was like in prehistory all the way up to the Middle Ages. From this point forward, the book is a very close look at every facet of Aztec culture and life, put together in as coherent and complete a way imaginable, given the unfortunate small amount of surviving elements of their world.
He traces the Aztec origins, their place in history and in the context of other civilizations, then explains their appearance and dress, their language and ways of speaking, their food and how they prepared meals, their agriculture, their clan organization, their home and their marriage, their relationships with one another and with other tribes, their societal structure and day to day living, the roles everyone took on, their taxes and the state, the surprisingly interesting bread making, justice, medicine, their treatment of the dead and their fear of death, their capital Tenochtitlan and their last Chief Speaker before the arrival of the Spanish, Moctezuma II, and their various accomplishments in art, sculpture, jewelry, feather weaving, pottery, weaponry and warfare, their calendar, their superstitions and myths, their roads, their merchants, their communication and writing and paper, and the reasons they were not considered an empire like the Incas and Mayas, and a brief but tragic look at their final days before they were conquered by Cortes.
See? Virtually everything is here. And every bit of it is absorbing and interesting to learn, each chapter giving attention to a few related aspects of the Aztec world. Victor von Hagen infects you with the fascination of Aztec culture on a primal level, giving relevance and substance to every bit of knowledge he shares, and frequently providing a unique perspective on the encyclopedic stream of information, delivered at the perfect pace. And yet, so much has been lost to history, because the Aztecs did not keep detailed historical records for centuries, and because their conquerors did not preserve much of what they could instead destroy. We know the names and exploits of their past rulers for some time, but there is much that will remain unknown forever.
Did you know that the Aztecs believed that without the benevolent gods’ favor, humankind would be destroyed, and that the only way to gain the favor of their gods, like the Hummingbird Wizard, was to feed them human hearts, and that the best way to attain a healthy supply of fresh human hearts was with sacrifices from captured enemies? And so this is why the Aztecs believed war was always necessary, not to destroy their enemies, but to have a constant supply of prisoners from whom they could take hearts to nourish the gods. They believed they were protecting themselves and humanity from angry gods.
I didn’t know that. I didn’t know most of the things I learned here. What a great time I’ve had being steeped in Aztec history these last few days.
May 28, 2022
This book was marked for discard at an enormous book sale near my college, and I bought it for fifty cents. It was written in the 60s, and honestly I'd suggest it just for that reason. I feel that recently, whenever we think of Native Americans in general, we always think of a peaceful people who were massacred by the Europeans. Is that fair? Sometimes, but von Hagen predates that movement to redefine the Native Americans using woke terminology, and treat the colonizing Spanish and English as if they are demons and the Native Americans complete angels. As is many times the case, there are evidences of both barbaric and peaceful Spanish, and barbaric and peaceful Native Americans.
All of that is to say that this book is one of the most objective sources I've seen on this topic. von Hagen shows immense appreciation for a culture that it many ways was quite unique and beautiful, while not shying away from the far more despicable, barbaric aspects of it as well. This book is mainly about culture, though it also focuses on some history as well. For a summary of all of Aztec culture, including the lives of the people living there, the architecture, religion, weaving, clothing, trade, literature, music etc. This is the proper resource for you. I liked this book a lot. It was very informative, and I feel like I came away from it with a very balanced and realistic view of the Aztec.
All of that is to say that this book is one of the most objective sources I've seen on this topic. von Hagen shows immense appreciation for a culture that it many ways was quite unique and beautiful, while not shying away from the far more despicable, barbaric aspects of it as well. This book is mainly about culture, though it also focuses on some history as well. For a summary of all of Aztec culture, including the lives of the people living there, the architecture, religion, weaving, clothing, trade, literature, music etc. This is the proper resource for you. I liked this book a lot. It was very informative, and I feel like I came away from it with a very balanced and realistic view of the Aztec.
June 27, 2024
Dated, and a bit repetitive because of the fragmented structure, but still a fun read about Aztec culture. Not so much a history book, more of a description of the Aztec civilization.
December 15, 2022
Vale per tutta la collana di 4 libri: Von Hagen sicuramente mostra un enorme conoscenza a tutto tondo rispetto le varie civiltà pre-colombiane del centro-sud America, peccato che i libri siano impostati in modo molto scolastico descrivendo nel dettaglio ogni aspetto della vita dei vari popoli che tratta.
Peccato che dopo quattro libri ritrovarsi a leggere come seccavano i mattoni al sole per costruire le case risulta un po’ noioso e ripetitivo.
Sicuramente interessanti per approfondire a pieno queste civiltà, ma sconsigliati se si cerca solo un racconto delle peculiarità e dei tratti più intriganti ed interessanti di May/Aztechi etc
Peccato che dopo quattro libri ritrovarsi a leggere come seccavano i mattoni al sole per costruire le case risulta un po’ noioso e ripetitivo.
Sicuramente interessanti per approfondire a pieno queste civiltà, ma sconsigliati se si cerca solo un racconto delle peculiarità e dei tratti più intriganti ed interessanti di May/Aztechi etc
January 5, 2011
Von Hagen wrote many books on ancient Central and South America. In this book, he provides details on the history, institutional structures and the daily life of the Aztecs.
The Indians of the Americas populated the last large land mass after modern man migrated out of Africa and developed their cultures in isolation from Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Near East and Europe. In contrast to any popularized image of nomad Indians in tee pees, Von Hagen's book is an account of a sophisticated civilization (Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City)that rivaled if not surpassed those civilizations in the mainstream of human history, and a civilization that was also influenced by earlier Mesoamerican cities(e.g., Teotihuacan, Monte Alban) that were contemporaries of the early Greeks. Given the isolation from the main current of human history, the Aztecs provide a foundation for a comparative history of how cultures develop and, perhaps, how such cultures develop from a common biological heritage shared by all humankind.
Tenochtitlan is built upon the forced tribute from as many as 371 surrounding towns and cities. Although Aztec leaders were democratically elected, they "took on semidivinity" with "power only held in check by ancient mores." Priests filled a critical role among the Aztecs, including assessing the horoscope to determine whether it was time to go to war, which, when compared to the Romans who consulted chicken livers, the author interestingly concludes that the Aztec method was "a bit more saturated with reason," and, of course, the priests conducted the human sacrifices that were necessary to appease and please the Aztec gods. Battles began with "military promenades to overawe the enemy" and, for the Aztecs, death was life that had "merely passed from one phase to another" where the dead people were "invisible, impalpable, invulnerable." The dead were, in other words, the "undead" who "become the unseen members of the clan."
Von Hagen's book is an easy and informative read, with many excellent drawings and pictures.
The Indians of the Americas populated the last large land mass after modern man migrated out of Africa and developed their cultures in isolation from Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Near East and Europe. In contrast to any popularized image of nomad Indians in tee pees, Von Hagen's book is an account of a sophisticated civilization (Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City)that rivaled if not surpassed those civilizations in the mainstream of human history, and a civilization that was also influenced by earlier Mesoamerican cities(e.g., Teotihuacan, Monte Alban) that were contemporaries of the early Greeks. Given the isolation from the main current of human history, the Aztecs provide a foundation for a comparative history of how cultures develop and, perhaps, how such cultures develop from a common biological heritage shared by all humankind.
Tenochtitlan is built upon the forced tribute from as many as 371 surrounding towns and cities. Although Aztec leaders were democratically elected, they "took on semidivinity" with "power only held in check by ancient mores." Priests filled a critical role among the Aztecs, including assessing the horoscope to determine whether it was time to go to war, which, when compared to the Romans who consulted chicken livers, the author interestingly concludes that the Aztec method was "a bit more saturated with reason," and, of course, the priests conducted the human sacrifices that were necessary to appease and please the Aztec gods. Battles began with "military promenades to overawe the enemy" and, for the Aztecs, death was life that had "merely passed from one phase to another" where the dead people were "invisible, impalpable, invulnerable." The dead were, in other words, the "undead" who "become the unseen members of the clan."
Von Hagen's book is an easy and informative read, with many excellent drawings and pictures.
November 29, 2015
The author examines different aspects of Aztec lives. He examines them in a fair manner that predates our postmodern rebirth of the noble savage. Although he presents the Aztec as very capable people, he does not ignore their propensity toward war with other tribes, and their prejudice and partiality among themselves.
Here is a sample of von Hagen using description, purpose, and perspective in historical reporting:
As the good will of the rain god could only be sustained by a diet of human hearts, and as these could only be provided by taking prisoners in battle, a long peace was a disaster. Only in perpetual war was there safety.
It was a nightmare. (p. 78)
Here is a sample of von Hagen using description, purpose, and perspective in historical reporting:
As the good will of the rain god could only be sustained by a diet of human hearts, and as these could only be provided by taking prisoners in battle, a long peace was a disaster. Only in perpetual war was there safety.
It was a nightmare. (p. 78)
February 23, 2016
3.75 stars. Having never read about the Aztecs before, I quite enjoyed this. It was a nice way to get my feet wet. I didn't really like the chapter setup though. It was clear that the author was jumping around a lot in his writing, and as a result there is both repetitiveness and inconsistency in the various subjects. I also wonder whether the book would stand the test of time. I guess I'll need to read more to find out.
Want to read
August 26, 2011I love the Aztec!!! And the movie Apocalypto is AWESOME!!!!!! Especially when the other tribe paints them blue and chops their head off!!!! Ha!
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September 14, 2012******
February 12, 2015
It seems like only an introduction to the Aztecs, looking for more detailed histories.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews