The Aztec Empire once hosted an expansive trade network that brought volcanic glass to its capital from right across Mesoamerica, from coast to coast. The largest compositional study of obsidian ...

A new analysis of hundreds of obsidian artifacts from the Aztec Empire has revealed the vast trade networks that supplied obsidian, sometimes even from rivals.

Archaeologists found that while the Mexica primarily used green obsidian, obsidian also came from at least seven other ...

New archaeological research led by Tulane University and Mexico’s Proyecto Templo Mayor has unveiled the extensive trade ...

This small insect, native to the Americas, was used by the Aztecs to create a vivid red dye, which would eventually ...

The discovery also sheds light on how the Aztec society evolved — introducing more standardized religion and control before the empire fell in 1520 — by showing how obsidian use changed over time.

May 16 has been a date marked by significant events throughout history, spanning continents and centuries, each contributing ...

The placement of every excavated object appeared to be governed by an exquisite logic, re-creating the Aztec Empire's entire cosmology. It was at the very bottom of the second offering box that ...

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAMY/ACI Ahuitzotl, probably the greatest of all the Aztec rulers, came to power next. He expanded the empire’s borders as far as present-day Guatemala, coming into contact with ...

The discovery also sheds light on how the Aztec society evolved — introducing more standardized religion and control before the empire fell in 1521 — by showing how obsidian use changed over time.