A new analysis of hundreds of obsidian artifacts from the Aztec Empire has revealed the vast trade networks that supplied obsidian, sometimes even from rivals.

The discovery also sheds light on how the Aztec society evolved — introducing more standardized religion and control before the empire fell in 1520 — by showing how obsidian use changed over time.

Researchers analyzed 788 obsidian artifacts from Tenochtitlan, revealing that the Mexica (Aztec) Empire sourced this important material from at least eight different locations, including regions ...

More information: Diego Matadamas-Gomora et al, Compositional analysis of obsidian artifacts from the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire, Proceedings of the ...

An interesting fact about gold is that it can never be destroyed. You can melt, atomise, and dissolve it, but it never truly ‘dies’. The only real way to do that is to cast it back to whence it came, ...

This suggests that the way wealth is organized and redistributed can be a decisive factor in the longevity of a political system. The study doesn’t stop at Rome and China. It also compares these ...

The arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1519 marked the decline of the Aztec Empire, influenced by both military conflict and religious beliefs. Today, many Mexicans still honor their Aztec heritage.

The Aztec Empire was one of the most dominant forces the world had ever seen, but it would fall from grace in a span of two and a half years. In 1519, the Aztecs ruled an empire that covered 800,000 ...

The Aztec Empire was one of the most dominant forces the world had ever seen, but it would fall from grace in a span of two and a half years.

They are comparable to the animal sacrifices conducted by the Aztec empire a millennium later. The Aztecs conducted ritual sacrifices often, offering 400 different animal species to their gods.