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Trade and Tribute
Warfare, conceived of as a ritual in itself and justified by religious ideas, fundamentally obeyed the predominant need to obtain tribute, because Tenochtitlan was not self-sufficient to satisfy all the needs of an ever growing and increasingly demanding population. Therefore, warfare served a vital need that sustained the economy of the Mexicas, together with agriculture. In this hall may be seen objects that have come to Tenochtitlan as the result of tribute imposed by the Mexicas and from trade that they maintained with different peoples. All these objects were deposited in offerings due to their symbolic value. Among them, are works from eras long predating the Mexica.
The Mexicas came to dominate more than 360 peoples, conquests which were recorded in documents such as the Matrícula de Tributos. This manuscript records the products and quantities that had to be paid in tribute, as well as the schedule each town had to follow to deliver payment to the metropolis.
Some regions were very important for Mexica economic activity. For example, the obsidian lodes of Sierra de las Navajas, in today's state of Hidalgo, and the zone of Otumba, in the state of Mexico, provided the raw materials needed for a wide range of purposes. Obsidian was used to make sumptuary items such as cetros, beads, earplugs, nose ornaments, lipplugs; bellicose objects such as knives, and projectile points; and utilitarian objects, such as mortars, among many others.
The white stone known as tecalli came from the town of Tecalco in the Mixteca-Pueblan zone. The quality of this stone and its transparency allowed artisans to create objects of great artistic beauty, among which stands out this tecalli mask with shell appliqué, miniature figures, and representations of gods such as Xiuhtecuhtli, among others.
In this hall are also exhibited many objects from the Mixtec zone, such as the group of green stone figurines, known as penates and that in their majority represent the god Tlaloc. From today's state of Oaxaca is a group of jewelry made from gold and silver. Objects made of coral and different kinds of shell, worked in relief, are from the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mexican Caribbean. A particularly important group of pieces comes from the Mezcala zone in the modern state of Guerrero, which represent masks, heads and human figures.
It is important to point out that in this hall are exhibited objects of cultures preceding that of the Mexica. The most noteworthy examples are Teotihuacan masks and in particular, an Olmec mask, which is the oldest object found to date in the Templo Mayor.
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Last Modified: January 11, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright 1997
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