Aztec Mexico

this week's mail was full of great postcards! Two present aspects of Aztec culture & society related to their calendar system. Like most complex societies, the Aztec devised a system for determining the best days to plant, get married, do important activities, hold religious ceremonies etc. Some days were considered more fortunate; individuals born on those dates would be successful in life while those born on unlucky days were bound by fate to fail, Aztec scribes & priests kept track of their information by stone engravings and folding paper books known as a codix which they continued to make even after the conquest.

 The Aztec Sun Stone was found in the main square of Mexico City in 1790. It was a part of the temple complex in the heart of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. This complex was destroyed by the Spanish and most of the stones used to build colonial buildings and churches that form modern Mexico City. Today this sculpture is found in Mexico's National Anthropology Museum and is a common symbol on many tourist goods; it has even appeared in stories about the supposed Mayan world end of Dec 2012. Thanks to a Postcrosser who visited the Museum and brought this card home!

This curious little astrology card came from an exchange partner in Hawaii. The image is an Aztec warrior dressed in feline outfit, armed with an obsidian studded war club, and a decorative feather shield. The best Aztec warriors were members of specialized military groups, similar to European knights, who participated in hand to hand combat with the hope of bringing home war captives. Sadly few of the feathered shields have survived; feather work was highly prized and exotic feathers were sent as tribute from vassel states to the Empire. After the conquest the best artisans used their skills to make Catholic religious art in feathers.
Sales of this card benefit preservation of the Ituri Rain Forest in the DR Congo