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Hidden World of the Aztec
A unique look at the Aztecs and the archaeologists who are determined to unearth their secrets. In 1521 the world of the Aztecs came to a sudden end when Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, destroyed their capital. The ruins of that city lie beneath the streets of modern-day Mexico City. Peter Lourie traveled to Mexico City to meet the renowned archaeologist Leonardo López Luján. With Dr. Luján as his guide, the author viewed the diggings at the Aztec Great Temple, and even met the God of Death in the basement of the temple's museum.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2006
6 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lourie
43 books13 followersPeter is an award-winning author, professor, and explorer. He has written over two dozen nonfiction books for children and adults spanning topics from adventure and the environment to polar bears and lost treasure.
His forthcoming book, Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole is a spellbinding biography of Fridtjof Nansen, the pioneer of polar exploration, with a spotlight on his harrowing three-year journey to the top of the world.
A true adventurer, Lourie has traveled all over the world to research his subjects, from the cloud forest in Ecuador in search of Inca treasure, to Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya on the Ethiopian border, to Terra del Fuego and the jungles of Rondonia, Brazil.
His forthcoming book, Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole is a spellbinding biography of Fridtjof Nansen, the pioneer of polar exploration, with a spotlight on his harrowing three-year journey to the top of the world.
A true adventurer, Lourie has traveled all over the world to research his subjects, from the cloud forest in Ecuador in search of Inca treasure, to Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya on the Ethiopian border, to Terra del Fuego and the jungles of Rondonia, Brazil.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 15, 2018
I've always been fascinated by ancient cultures, but most of my focus has always been on Egyptian history.
I remember learning about the Aztecs in school and this book gave me a refresher while also making me realize there is so much I don't know!
I had read somewhere about the ancient city of Tenochtitlan and it's capture by Spanish conquistadors but I had no idea that Mexico City is built over its remains! Its so crazy that you can tell where modern buildings are built upon ancient temples by observing the uneveness of rooftops.
This is a great book if you want an intro to the Aztecs and archaeological findings from their time.
I am definitely checking out more books on the Aztecs and if Im lucky enough to go to Mexico City, I now have an Aztec travel bucket list.
I remember learning about the Aztecs in school and this book gave me a refresher while also making me realize there is so much I don't know!
I had read somewhere about the ancient city of Tenochtitlan and it's capture by Spanish conquistadors but I had no idea that Mexico City is built over its remains! Its so crazy that you can tell where modern buildings are built upon ancient temples by observing the uneveness of rooftops.
This is a great book if you want an intro to the Aztecs and archaeological findings from their time.
I am definitely checking out more books on the Aztecs and if Im lucky enough to go to Mexico City, I now have an Aztec travel bucket list.
April 19, 2009
"Hidden World of the Aztec" is the history of the Aztec people, which grew up around the city of Tenochtitlan, in what is now underneath modern day Mexico City. This culture thrived from 1325-1521. The author accompanies an archaeologist named Leonardo as he excavates the Aztec Great Temple, or Templo Mayor in Spanish, in the middle of downtown Mexico City. He also visits and discusses another ancient culture located at a city north of Mexico City called Teotihuacan, and its main structure called The Pyramid of the Moon.
I picked this book because I have been fascinated with Pre-Columbian culture since I took an art history class my junior year of college. This book was a more in-depth study of the Aztecs than what I had studied, which was primarily the Olmecs, Teotihuacan and the Mayans in Mexico and Guatemala. Their culture was just so advanced considering they were Stone Age to Medieval people and had no metal tools. Plus their artwork, though sometimes a little gruesome, is so amazing with the colors they used and the subject matter. They try to explain the bloodletting ritual in the book and I think they did a decent job, though it is still bound to gross people out. They used to bloodlet pretty much any appendage and then illustrated it on wall paintings or codices. I liked how they talked about all the ongoing archaeological digs going in the city and I think it would be so cool to actually go to one and even help out. I also liked how the author got to go inside the Pyramid of the Moon and check out the skulls and objects they had found inside. I would love to one day go to the pyramid and check out the view from the top, as it is supposed to be amazing. This is of course despite the fact that the stairs are notoriously steep and angled, and difficult to get up.
I picked this book because I have been fascinated with Pre-Columbian culture since I took an art history class my junior year of college. This book was a more in-depth study of the Aztecs than what I had studied, which was primarily the Olmecs, Teotihuacan and the Mayans in Mexico and Guatemala. Their culture was just so advanced considering they were Stone Age to Medieval people and had no metal tools. Plus their artwork, though sometimes a little gruesome, is so amazing with the colors they used and the subject matter. They try to explain the bloodletting ritual in the book and I think they did a decent job, though it is still bound to gross people out. They used to bloodlet pretty much any appendage and then illustrated it on wall paintings or codices. I liked how they talked about all the ongoing archaeological digs going in the city and I think it would be so cool to actually go to one and even help out. I also liked how the author got to go inside the Pyramid of the Moon and check out the skulls and objects they had found inside. I would love to one day go to the pyramid and check out the view from the top, as it is supposed to be amazing. This is of course despite the fact that the stairs are notoriously steep and angled, and difficult to get up.
November 16, 2012
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
When you pick up a book by author Peter Lourie, you'll realize two things right away. First, he loves history, and his love for the subject comes through in his writing. Secondly, Mr. Lourie doesn't just write about the past. He's a hands-on type of person, and that's clearly evident in HIDDEN WORLD OF THE AZTEC.
In 1512, the two-hundred year history of the Aztecs was brought to a close when Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes captured the capital city of Tenochtitlan. That ancient city, the hub of the Aztec culture, now lies buried beneath a larger, much more modern city--that of downtown Mexico City.
Mr. Lourie followed a team of archaeologists, led by Leonardo Lopez Lujan, as they conducted new excavations at both the Great Temple and the Pyramid of the Moon. The work done at the Great Temple was the first attempted in seven years. At the more ancient Pyramid of the Moon, located thirty miles north of Mexico City, a new opening was made at the top of the pyramid, and Mr. Lourie followed a team down into never-before explored tunnels.
HIDDEN WORLD OF THE AZTEC is filled with beautiful full-color photographs, maps of the ancient Aztec world, and photos of actual archaeological finds discovered during their time in Mexico City. This first-hand account of what the ancient Aztec culture was like is not to be missed, especially by those with a love of history.
When you pick up a book by author Peter Lourie, you'll realize two things right away. First, he loves history, and his love for the subject comes through in his writing. Secondly, Mr. Lourie doesn't just write about the past. He's a hands-on type of person, and that's clearly evident in HIDDEN WORLD OF THE AZTEC.
In 1512, the two-hundred year history of the Aztecs was brought to a close when Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes captured the capital city of Tenochtitlan. That ancient city, the hub of the Aztec culture, now lies buried beneath a larger, much more modern city--that of downtown Mexico City.
Mr. Lourie followed a team of archaeologists, led by Leonardo Lopez Lujan, as they conducted new excavations at both the Great Temple and the Pyramid of the Moon. The work done at the Great Temple was the first attempted in seven years. At the more ancient Pyramid of the Moon, located thirty miles north of Mexico City, a new opening was made at the top of the pyramid, and Mr. Lourie followed a team down into never-before explored tunnels.
HIDDEN WORLD OF THE AZTEC is filled with beautiful full-color photographs, maps of the ancient Aztec world, and photos of actual archaeological finds discovered during their time in Mexico City. This first-hand account of what the ancient Aztec culture was like is not to be missed, especially by those with a love of history.
December 19, 2014
This book for little kids about Aztec archaeology caught my attention partly because it was published in my little birth town in Pennsylvania. It intersperses general information about the Aztec and pre-Hispanic Mexico with the author telling about archaeologists showing him ongoing excavations at the Great Temple in Mexico City and at Teotihuacan. Maybe the best thing about it is how it shows kids a little of what doing archaeology looks like, including the painstaking mapping and cataloging and sifting through dirt.
April 17, 2017
An introductory book on the aztecs.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews