AIA Archeology Hour: Collision of Worlds with David Carballo

On Wednesday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m., Boston University professor of archeology David Carballo presented Collision of Worlds: An Archaeological Perspective on the Spanish Invasion of Aztec Mexico. The talk was based on Carballo’s similarly titled book, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2020. As part of AIA Archeology Hour, a virtual evening lecture series organized by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), this event was moderated by Rabun Taylor, professor of classics at the University of Texas at Austin, and hosted by the Central Texas (Austin) Society, a chapter of the AIA.

Carballo began his talk by explaining that his book covers three main perspectives about the Spanish Invasion of Aztec Mexico.

1. The Archaeological Perspective focuses on material culture and the world, like “landscapes, places, and things”.
2. The Transatlantic Perspective, traditionally used to emphasize the technological differences between the Spanish and the Aztec, such as in Jared Diamond’s book Guns, Germs, and Steel, overshadows the equally important differences between cultural institutions and ways of thinking.
3. The perspective of Agency and Historical Memory highlights the ways that indigenous people have negotiated or resisted the new arrangements in periods of colonization. This is a direct contrast to the “Great Man Narrative”, emphasizing the work of Hernán Cortés as a conquering hero. In reality, Cortéz conducted illegal military maneuvers to invade a neutral territory, breaching the command of then-governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, and later writing a series of letters to the King of Spain to justify the war.

When researching for his book, Carballo pulled from a great number of sources. A partial bibliography includes:

• Conquest, by Hugh Thomas, a comprehensive and traditional description of the Spanish invasion.
• The Buried Mirror, by Carlos Fuentes, which presents a transatlantic perspective
• Europe and the People without History, by Eric R. Wolfarly, who discusses globalization and shows how colonized people were presented ahistorically.
• Historia de Tlaxcala, by Diego Muñoz Camargo, an indigenous historian.
• Forjando Patria, by Manuel Gamio, an archeologist who emphasized the importance of archeology and anthropology in post-revolutionary Mexico.
• Indian Conquistadors, describing the alliances between the Spaniards and indigenous people.

Carballo compared the city of Medellín, Castile, Spain where Cortéz was born to the city of Cholula, Mexico. Today, a cathedral stands on top of a human-made mountain or pyramid, comparative to the castle in Medellín. Waves of European empires influenced the architecture and archeology of the Spanish city, including the Celtic Iberians, the Phoenicians (later called the Carthaginians) beginning in 1200 BC, the Romans from about 200 BC to 500, the Muslim empire of Al-Andalus from about 500 to 1500, and the Catholic Church since then. Mesoamerica empires influencing the design and communication in cities like Cholula and Tenochtitlan include Olmec masks from about 1200 BC to 600 BC, Xochicalco writing from about 650 to 900, Tula style bench reliefs from about 900 to 1250, and other city-states during Aztec period from 1350 until the Spanish invaded.

Both Spain and Mesoamerica had systems of education. Universidad de Salamanca in Spain was among the earliest European universities, founded around the time of Università di Bologna in Italy, Université Paris in France, and University of Oxford in England. Cortéz once heard Columbus lecture about his trips to the Caribbean at the Universidad de Salamanca, while human rights activist Bartolomé de las Casas, who opposed slavery and fought for the rights of indigenous Mesoamericans, studied theology there. Similarly, Tenochtitlan had a multitier compulsory education system. The House of Youth taught civics and history to young boys, including how to clean a canal, pave a road, or strategize in battle. Girls may have attended a similar school or received homeschooling, concentrating on weaving and managing a household. The House of Song taught religious practices to early teenagers, including liturgical dance. The House of Lineage was restricted to nobles or future priests and taught math, astronomy, and calendars. This education system was partially based on the Maya scribal training centers, which predated the Aztec empire.

Once in Mexico, Cortéz planned his conquest. He worked with a native woman called Marina or Malinche, a gifted interpreter who spoke Yucatan Maya, Nahuatl (Aztec language), and later Castilian (European Spanish). With her assistance, the Spanish allied with the Tlaxcaltec, rivals of the Aztec. Before attempting the conquest, Cortéz ordered his men to sink the boats. While this has traditionally been portrayed as a similar act to Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, the boats were actually made of rotted wood, so only the metal could be saved. Mexican archeologist Roberto Junco rediscovered the sunken boats with his team, radiocarbon dating the wood to the 15th century, and identify the species to be from the Cantabria region of northern Spain. They also found three anchors buried in sediment. Conquistador Martín López would later oversee the building of new boats using the original metal to attack the Aztec capital.

Carballo emphasized that the conquest initially did not go well for the Spaniards. On “La Noche Triste” or “The Sad Night”, they were expelled from the city of Tenochtitlan after living their for several months under the watchful eye of the leader Moctezuma II. Modern Mexicans have rebranded this as “La Noche Victoriosa”, emphasizing the bravery of the Aztecs and embracing the pre-Hispanic past of the country.

Carballo illustrated how the Spanish style of rule and warfare was unfamiliar to the Aztecs. Mesoamerican people were accustomed to a decentralized form of government, where city-states were ruled by a council or multiple leaders. A group of city-states might form a hegemonic empire, with blended economies and syncretic religions. This concept is similar to what occured in Ancient Greece, including a republican form government. Before going to war, they first gave gifts, including women, as a gesture to become allies and family members. The Aztecs achieved status on the battlefield by taking captives for sacrifice, not killing people immediately. Warriors who took many captives could rise to the ranks of eagle warrior or jaguar warrior and were treated like nobility.

In contrast, the Spanish were accustomed to a direct control or territorial form of government led by single ruler who held significant power, often modeled after the Roman Empire. Cortéz attempted to deal with whoever he determined to be the ruler, ignoring the others. In battle, the Spaniards had a “take no prisoners” system of war based on the chivalry of the European medieval period, immediately killing opponents on the battlefield. At this time, they even reinvented Santiago, or Saint James, to become a vengeful warrior, giving him the epithet of Mataindios or “Kills Indians”. The Aztecs slowly realized that the rules of the game of war had changed, but they did not adapt quickly enough to save their empire.

Carballo described the ultimate goal of the Spanish was to turn Mexico into New Spain. They constructed Roman style aqueducts, complete with a Roman Catholic shrine, using adobe bricks and native building techniques. The Catholic friars encouraged religious syncretism, teaching European ways of worship to indigenous people while adapting to Mesoamerican forms of worship. Catholic churches had open atriums and chapels to mimic Mesoamerican religious practices, including references to the four cardinal directions and the center of the space. Hybrid texts written in multiple languages and illustrated in Mesoamerican styles aided with teaching in hybrid schools. Real y Pontificia Universidad de México was built atop the House of Youths of Tenochtitlan, becoming the first university in the Americas.

During the question and answer section during the last fifteen minutes of the event, Carballo elaborated on previous points while explaining archeological techniques. Most interesting to me was his description of pottery at Teotihuacan, a pre-Aztec city. Historians studied fingerprints in the clay to determine the gender of the artist. Earlier in the period, pots were handmade and designed by women. Later in the period, pots were made in an industrial setting using clay molds, which were pressed by men. The Maya decorated their posts, with male scribes writing their names in hieroglyphs. Throughout this time period, weaving was done by women and acted as a form of currency along with cacao beans, since the economy had no cash. Women ran small business, owned property, could get a divorce, and had many more rights than their European equivalents at the time.

As I have come to expect from AIA, the moderator, speaker, and audience during the webinar were highly knowledgeable. Carballo is clearly an expert in the field, easily presenting slides full of beautiful pictures and informative text, along with answering all the many questions from the question and answer section. I will have to add his book to my increasingly long book list!