Aztec Women anGoddesses Author: Miriam López Hernández Editorial director: Nathalie Armella Spitalier Editorial assistant: Vicente Camacho Lucario Assistant editor: Natalia Ramos Garay English Translation: Rose Vekony Art director: Alexandra Suberville Sota Editorial design: Emmanuel Hernández López Editorial design assistant: Berenice Ceja Juárez Aztec Women and Goddesses Volume 1 in the series Mesoamerican Women First Spanish edition published in 2011. First English edition published in 2012. Original title: De mujeres y diosas aztecas. Tomo 1 de la serie Mujer mesoamericana © CACCIANI, S.A. de C.V. Prol. Calle 18 N° 254 Col. San Pedro de los Pinos 01180 México, D.F. +52 (55) 5273 2397 / +52 (55) 5273 2229
[email protected] www.fundacionarmella.org ISBN: 978-607-8187-16-4 Reproduction of this work in whole or in part, in any medium and by any method, is prohibited without the authorization of the copyright holders. Cover design: Adaptation of Mujer de sangre azteca (2011) by Ana Rosenzweig and Paola Villalva. Prologue Because we live in a society with a strong androcentric bent, academic research on women’s daily life and its contribution to their societies has traditionally occupied a secondary place in archaeology and history. But since the second half of the twentieth century, this situation has gradually changed. Now we have countless works that ana- lyze the role of women in the societies of ancient Mexico and discuss their economic, political, and religious contribution. Among this wide range of studies, the work of Miriam López Hernández stands out. A young university researcher, she is deeply inter- ested in gender studies, as they are known today, which are at the forefront of feminist thought in academia.