Forensic Investigations of the Aztecs

by James Bow

How can modern forensic tools help solve the mystery of ancient Aztec skull masks? What can we learn about Aztec life from the forensic analysis of their art? Can chemical analysis teach us about how Aztecs treated disease - and why millions were killed in an epidemic? This exciting title offers answers to these questions and more as it examines how forensic science has allowed scientists, archaeologists, and historians to solve mysteries and answer questions about the Aztecs.

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

I was born in downtown Toronto on April 19, 1972 and lived there until my folks moved up to Kitchener in 1991 so I could attend the University of Waterloo. I’ve lived in Kitchener ever since. I’ve been trained as an urban planner, and I’ve worked as a database manager, web designer, circulation manager, administrative assistant, layout designer and office manager. The one consistent thing about my varied academic and professional career has been a love of writing.

Reviews

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full title: Forensic Investigations of the Aztecs. Another entry in this new Forensic Investigation series from Crabtree, this one looking at our fierce, mysterious and long dead neighbors to the south. They appeared as a nomadic tribe 800 years ago in the Valley of Mexico, calling themselves Aztecs after their mythical homeland of Aztlan. It took over a hundred years for them to settle and start their civilization on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. For the next 200 years, they flourished, erecting pyramid shaped buildings, eventually creating what is considered one of the most impressive cities ever built. Unfortunately, they met the Spanish and were wiped out. Much of what we knew early on was from writings by those conquistadors. This book documents what we know from past research, but it introduces readers to the methods and science being used today, like penetrating ground radar that looks like a backyard lawnmower, chemical preservatives that protect newly exposed bones and artifacts from weather damage, and technology that is able to determine what parts of ceremonial masks were made from human remains (gory, eh?). That same technology can help determine a lot about the remains because many skulls remaining from sacrifices we're still learning about, had skin and hair left that contributed DNA for more research. One of the ground and jungle penetration tools called Lidar helped researchers at Colorado State University discover Angamuco, a city that was at one time inhabited by 100,000 people from the Purepecha civilization who were enemies of the Aztecs. This happened just a year ago, proving that there's plenty left to learn about the Aztecs and similar people in Mexico. Young readers who like mystery, history and slightly creepy science will very much enjoy this book.