Figure 1.14 Stela A at the Classic-period Mayan city of Copan, Honduras. p. 70
Figure 1.15 The Epiclassic-period fortified, hilltop city of Xochicalco, Mexico. p. 72
Figure 1.16 Ritualized battle as depicted in a mural at the Epiclassic-period
city of Cacaxtla, Mexico. p. 73
Figure 1.17 Temple of the Warriors, a major administrative feature used
for council meetings, ceremonies, and processions at Chichen Itza’s Great Platform. p. 74
Figure 2.1 Locations of major later Postclassic period sites. p. 79
Figure 2.2 Stone mosaic façade of a palace building at the Postclassic-period
city of Mitla, Mexico. p. 80
Figure 2.3 Mixtec artist-scribe as portrayed in the Codex Vindobonensis. p. 81
Figure 2.4 The Temple of Kukulkan at the Postclassic Mayan political center of Mayapán. p. 82
Figure 2.5 Postclassic Mayan effigy censer from Mayapan depicting the deity Itzamna. p. 83
Figure 2.6 Segment of painted murals from Santa Rita, Corozal, Belize,
located in the semi-periphery of the Caribbean Coast. p. 84
Figure 2.7 Scenes from the Codex Madrid indicate that hunting and sacrifice
of deer were important in Postclassic rituals p. 85
Figure 2.8 Monkey figure from a painted mural at the K’iche’ Mayan capital
of Utatlán, Guatemala. p. 86
Figure 2.9 Map of Utatlán (Q’umarkaaj), the Postclassic K’ichean capital
of highland Guatemala. p. 86
Figure 2.10 Temple mound at the Tarascan capital of Tzintzuntzán in West Mexico. p. 87
Figure 2.11 Aztec round temple from the site of Calixtlahuaca. p. 88
Figure 2.12 Central Basin of Mexico, showing the system of dikes and causeways
that undergirded the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. p. 92
Figure 2.13 Remains of an Aztec peasant house excavated at the Late
Postclassic period village of Capilco, Mexico. p. 94
Figure 2.14 A pictorial portrayal of the political hierarchy, including judges,
within the Texcocan city-state as represented in the Mapa Quinatzin. p. 97
Figure 2.15 Central element of the Aztec calendar stone, denoting the Sun deity,
the cyclic creations of the world, and the ascension to power of the
Aztecs in A.D. 1427. p. 100
Figure 2.16 The Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered Serpent.” p. 103
Figure 2.17 Map of the Mixtec region, showing the Mixteca Alta, Mixteca Baja,
and Mixteca de la Costa. p. 104
Figure 2.18 Mayan Polities in the Yucatan at the time of Spanish conquest
and location of important postclassic Mayan sites mentioned in the text. p. 114
Figure 3.1 Core, semiperiphery, and periphery zones of the Mesoamerican world-system. p. 125
Figure 3.2 Painted ceramic vessel from Naco, Honduras, in the northern part
of the Central American periphery. p. 138
Figure 3.3 Figure painted on a pottery vessel from Sinaloa, Mexico, in typical
Mesoamerican style. p. 141
Figure 3.4 Huaxtec carved statue of an unclothed man with tatoos on one side of his body. p. 143
Figure 4.1 Map showing the main routes by which the Spaniards conquered
the Mesoamerican world. p. 152
Figure 4.2 Illustration from Las Casas’s “Brief Relation on the Destruction of the Indies.” p. 162
Figure 4.3 Motecuhzoma’s emissaries present gifts to Cortés. p. 167
Figure 4.4 Two of Tlaxcala’s four principal lords declare their alliance with Cortés. p. 169
Figure 4.5 The first meeting between Motecuhzoma and Cortés. p. 170
Figure 4.6 The noche triste. p. 171
Figure 4.7 The smallpox epidemic. p. 172
LIST OF FIGURES xiii