September 14, 2024 Dr. Michael E. Smith, Arizona State University: “At Home with the Aztecs: an Archaeologist Uncovers Their Daily Life.”
This talk provided a fresh view of Aztec society, focusing on households and communities instead of kings, pyramids, and human sacrifice. This new approach offers an opportunity to humanize the Aztecs, moving past the popular stereotype of sacrificial maniacs to demonstrate that these were successful and prosperous communities. Dr. Smith describes the scientific, logistic and personal dimensions of archaeological fieldwork, drawing on decades of excavating experience and considering how his research was affected by his interactions with contemporary Mexican communities. He presents a new approach to the topic of the success, prosperity and resilience (or lack thereof) of ancient societies. This talk is of interest not only to those interested in the Aztecs but also those with an interest in the ways archaeologists define and study resilience in early households and communities.
Dr. Michael E. Smith is an archaeologist specializing in the Aztecs and Teotihuacan in Mexico. In recent years he has branched out to work on comparative urbanism: comparisons of ancient and modern cities, and studies of urban life through the ages. He has published many technical books on his excavations; for a more general audience, see his new prizewinning popular book, At Home with the Aztecs, or his popular textbook, The Aztecs.
Dr. Smith is Professor of Anthropology at Arizona State University, and Director of the ASU Teotihuacan Research Laboratory. At Home with the Aztecs won the 2017 award, Best Popular Book, from the Society for American Archaeology.