Abstract
‘Aztec foundations: Aztlan, cities, peoples’ explores Aztec foundation myths. A number of different groups migrated to the Aztec basin. Their stories were akin to an epic odyssey: a hazardous pilgrimage from an ancient homeland to dominance of a sacred land. The Azteca people changed their name to the Mexica as they left Aztlan, and their journey to the site of Tenochtitlan was fraught with danger. They built Tenochtitlan to cement their cultural and political legitimacy. Tenochtitlan was not the first city to be built on that site, which led to many debates about the origins of the Mesoamerican people.
