Quetzalcoatl and the irony of empire: Myths and prophecies in the Aztec tradition - Hardcover

Carrasco, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226094871 ISBN 13: 9780226094878

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1983

Synopsis

Davíd Carrasco draws from the perspectives of the history of religions, anthropology, and urban ecology to explore the nature of the complex symbolic form of Quetzalcoatl in the organization, legitimation, and subversion of a large segment of the Mexican urban tradition. His new Preface addresses this tradition in the light of the Columbian quincentennial.

"This book, rich in ideas, constituting a novel approach . . . represents a stimulating and provocative contribution to Mesoamerican studies. . . . Recommended to all serious students of the New World's most advanced indigenous civilization."—H. B. Nicholson, Man

About this title

About the Author

Davíd Carrasco is director of the Moses Mesoamerican Archive, professor of history of religions at Harvard University, and editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. His works include Mesoamerica's Classic Heritage, Moctezuma's Mexico, Waiting for the Dawn, Aztec Ceremonial Landscapes (University Press of Colorado), and City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization (Beacon).

Review

"This book, rich in ideas, constituting a novel approach...represents a stimulating and provocative contribution to Mesoamerican studies...Recommended to all serious students of the New World's most advanced indigenous civilization."
—Man

"[Carrasco] has significantly advanced our understanding of the complexities of Mesoamerican culture history, not least by demonstrating that there was a great deal more involved in religious belief than its purely iconic context."
—American Historical Review

 

 

"The work of Carrasco, interesting and provocative, is conceived as a species of drama filled with literary signs."
—Revista Interamericana de Bibliografia

"This book constitutes an interesting and challenging approach to the interpretation of Mesoamerican religion, urbanism, and archaeology."
—Science

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0226094871
• ISBN 13: 9780226094878
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224