This Very Short Introduction employs the disciplines of history religious studies & anthropology as it illuminates the complexities of Aztec life Readers meet a people highly skilled in sculpture astronomy city planning poetry & philosophy who were also profoundly committed to cosmic regeneration through the thrust of the ceremonial knife & through warfare David Carrasco looks beyond Spanish accounts that have colored much of the Western narrative to let Aztec voices speak about their origin stories the cosmic significance of their capital city their methods of child rearing & the contributions women made to daily life & the empire Carrasco discusses the arrival of the Spaniards contrasts Aztec mythical traditions about the origins of their city with actual urban life in Mesoamerica & outlines the rise of the Aztec empire He also explores Aztec religion which provided both justification for & alternatives to warfare sacrifice & imperialism & he sheds ligh