The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Middle Postclassic (c. 1200-1426 CE). By this time, Tula no longer held sway over the region, and had been replaced by several city-states (altepetl). Documents written much later record the dynastic histories and conflicts between these city-states; toward the very end of this period, they came to form growing confederations, paving the way for the Aztec empire. [1] Major centres such as Azcapotzalco, Texcoco, or Cholula likely had between 20,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. [2] Each altepetl was ruled by a king (tlatoani) and a council of nobles. [3]
[1]: (Evans 2012: 123-124) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X.
[2]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro)
[3]: (Smith and Sergheraert 2012: 449) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XC9E2B7Q.
| [20,000 to 30,000] people |
| - |
| [700,000 to 800,000] people |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| present | |
| absent |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| unknown | 1200 CE 1299 CE |
| present | 1300 CE 1426 CE |
| unknown | 1200 CE 1299 CE |
| present | 1300 CE 1426 CE |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| inferred present |
| present |
| absent |
| inferred present |
| absent |
| present |
| Year Range | Middle Postclassic Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_10) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1200 CE 1426 CE) | Basin of Mexico |
"By about CE 1200, there were fewer than 200,000 people in the Basin; in 1519, there were about 1.6 million. Thus the population doubled every 100 years between 1200 and 1500". [1]
[1]: (Evans 2004: 438) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA.
levels. Inferred from settlement hierarchy of the previous period, somewhat supported by the following quote: "During the Middle postclassic Period, small independent polities were founded [...] these were often city-states, encompassing an urbanized community and its surrounding hinterlad with farming villages". [1]
[1]: (Evans 2004: 428) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA.
Professional soldiers are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). The information for this code is based primarily on art and are less secure than what we know from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]
[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)
Professional military officers are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). The information for this code is based primarily on art and are less secure than what we know from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]
[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)
Government buildings, such as council houses, are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). [1] "The essential elements of altepetl organization were concentrated in the structures of the civic-ceremonial core, including marketplaces fundamental to the economy system, palaces serving as administrative loci". [2]
[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)
[2]: (Carballo 2016: 44) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7B7A8KA6.
Government buildings, such as council houses, are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). [1] "The essential elements of altepetl organization were concentrated in the structures of the civic-ceremonial core, including marketplaces fundamental to the economy system, palaces serving as administrative loci". [2]
[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)
[2]: (Carballo 2016: 44) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7B7A8KA6.
Full time bureaucrats are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). The information for this code is based primarily on art and are less secure than what we know from the Aztec Period (1450-1521). [1]
[1]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication to Jill Levine and Peter Turchin. Email. April 23, 2020)
"The essential elements of altepetl organization were concentrated in the structures of the civic-ceremonial core, including marketplaces fundamental to the economy system, palaces serving as administrative loci". [1]
[1]: (Carballo 2016: 44) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7B7A8KA6.
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare". [1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP
"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]
[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.
"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]
[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.
"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]
[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.
"Metals were another story. Throughout all these times [before 500 BCE], and even much later, they were essentially unused in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan’s predecessors [...] and Teotihuacan itself used only stone tools". [1]
[1]: (Cowgill 2015: 40) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JRFZPUXU.
"Most Aztec arms had been used by earlier groups [the main Aztec projectile weapons were atlatls, bows, and slings".EXTERNAL_INLINE_REFERENCE: ;(Hassig 1992: 137) Seshat URL: EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG .;
"Weapons in military contexts (arsenals, outposts, forts): knives, blades, projectile points (arrow and dart), spear points (for thrusting spears)." [1]
[1]: (Carballo and Pastrana 2016: 6) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/R36BBMEZ.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
Although domesticated dogs were present during this period, [1] [2] their function is unclear (food and/or hunting), [3] [4] and war dogs were unknown in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish Conquest; indeed, Hassig lists war dogs among the new military "technologies" the Spanish introduced to the region in the sixteenth century [5] [6] [7]
[1]: Savolainen, P., Y. Zhang, J. Luo, J. Lundeberg, and T. Leitner. (2002) "Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of domestic dogs." Science 298:1610-1613.
[2]: Leonard, J. A., R. K. Wayne, J. Wheeler, R. Valadez, S. Guillén, and C. Vilà. (2002) "Ancient DNA evidence for old world origin of new world dogs." Science 298: 1613-1616.
[3]: Sanders, William T., Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley. (1979) The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York, pg. 285.
[4]: Rosenswig, Robert M. (2015) "A Mosaic of Adaptation: The Archaeological Record for Mesoamerica’s Archaic Period." Journal of Archaeological Research 23(2): 115-162.
[5]: (Hassig 1992, 143) Hassig, Robert. 1992. War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. London; Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/F76EVNU3/itemKey/E9VHCKDG
[6]: Hassig, Ross. (1988) Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 237.
[7]: Hassig, Ross. (1992) War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. Berkeley: University of California Press, pg.163.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
Among the Toltecs (previous polity): "Headgear consisted of a pillbox-shaped hat". [1] Among the Aztecs (succeeding polity): "The Aztecs used shields, various forms of body armor, warriors’ suits, and helmets […] the elite also adopted complete torso armor". [2]
[1]: (Coe 1994: 140) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5DJ2S5IF.
[2]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs". [1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG.