The Aztec peoples are still around, FYI. And they're not whatever you seem to think they are.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuas
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuas
Nahuas - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
April 30, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The Aztec peoples are still around, FYI. And they're not whatever you seem to think they are.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuas
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuas
The more I write historical fiction / historical romance set in what's now Central Mexico during the 1400s, the more I think about the misconceptions about the Nahuas (in the "Aztec Empire" and surrounding nations) that have been embraced by the general public.
Here are some of the biggest:
1/
Here are some of the biggest:
1/
August 6, 2025 at 11:53 PM
The more I write historical fiction / historical romance set in what's now Central Mexico during the 1400s, the more I think about the misconceptions about the Nahuas (in the "Aztec Empire" and surrounding nations) that have been embraced by the general public.
Here are some of the biggest:
1/
Here are some of the biggest:
1/
The "Primitive" Fallacy
Lack of wheels or iron doesn’t mean ignorance. The Nahuas built floating farms, mapped stars, and made urban centers thrive. They had massive aqueducts and dikes, plus amazing hygienic systems. Their choices fit their world. Don’t judge by European tech alone.
10/
Lack of wheels or iron doesn’t mean ignorance. The Nahuas built floating farms, mapped stars, and made urban centers thrive. They had massive aqueducts and dikes, plus amazing hygienic systems. Their choices fit their world. Don’t judge by European tech alone.
10/
August 7, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The "Primitive" Fallacy
Lack of wheels or iron doesn’t mean ignorance. The Nahuas built floating farms, mapped stars, and made urban centers thrive. They had massive aqueducts and dikes, plus amazing hygienic systems. Their choices fit their world. Don’t judge by European tech alone.
10/
Lack of wheels or iron doesn’t mean ignorance. The Nahuas built floating farms, mapped stars, and made urban centers thrive. They had massive aqueducts and dikes, plus amazing hygienic systems. Their choices fit their world. Don’t judge by European tech alone.
10/
I promise you ... the feats of engineering that pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas and other Mesoamerican civilizations accomplished didn't happen without complex math with fractions.
Just because the Spanish didn't interview engineers to document their methods and terminology doesn't mean a thing.
4/
Just because the Spanish didn't interview engineers to document their methods and terminology doesn't mean a thing.
4/
May 31, 2026 at 3:43 PM
I promise you ... the feats of engineering that pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas and other Mesoamerican civilizations accomplished didn't happen without complex math with fractions.
Just because the Spanish didn't interview engineers to document their methods and terminology doesn't mean a thing.
4/
Just because the Spanish didn't interview engineers to document their methods and terminology doesn't mean a thing.
4/
Whatever momentary use it may appear to have, the real goal of "AI" is to strip you of your skills, leaving you helpless.
The Nahuas of pre-Invasion Mesoamerica warned their children not to neglect the skills that make life livable and worth living.
From book VI of the FLORENTINE CODEX:
1/
The Nahuas of pre-Invasion Mesoamerica warned their children not to neglect the skills that make life livable and worth living.
From book VI of the FLORENTINE CODEX:
1/
May 12, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Whatever momentary use it may appear to have, the real goal of "AI" is to strip you of your skills, leaving you helpless.
The Nahuas of pre-Invasion Mesoamerica warned their children not to neglect the skills that make life livable and worth living.
From book VI of the FLORENTINE CODEX:
1/
The Nahuas of pre-Invasion Mesoamerica warned their children not to neglect the skills that make life livable and worth living.
From book VI of the FLORENTINE CODEX:
1/
For the Nahuas (as for most Indigenous peoples on this continent), the Americas were the entire world.
In Nahuatl, it was called Cemanahuac, which I translate "the sea-ringed world," but which literally means "everything beside the waters."
Before the Spanish invasion, there was only 1 sea.
2/
In Nahuatl, it was called Cemanahuac, which I translate "the sea-ringed world," but which literally means "everything beside the waters."
Before the Spanish invasion, there was only 1 sea.
2/
February 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
For the Nahuas (as for most Indigenous peoples on this continent), the Americas were the entire world.
In Nahuatl, it was called Cemanahuac, which I translate "the sea-ringed world," but which literally means "everything beside the waters."
Before the Spanish invasion, there was only 1 sea.
2/
In Nahuatl, it was called Cemanahuac, which I translate "the sea-ringed world," but which literally means "everything beside the waters."
Before the Spanish invasion, there was only 1 sea.
2/
Human Universals
Aztecs weren’t exotic others or monsters—they were human beings. They loved, laughed, grieved, argued, dreamed. Every culture shows the full range of human experience. The Nahuas (the Mexica included) were no different. Their emotional lives are recognizable and relatable.
5/
Aztecs weren’t exotic others or monsters—they were human beings. They loved, laughed, grieved, argued, dreamed. Every culture shows the full range of human experience. The Nahuas (the Mexica included) were no different. Their emotional lives are recognizable and relatable.
5/
August 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Human Universals
Aztecs weren’t exotic others or monsters—they were human beings. They loved, laughed, grieved, argued, dreamed. Every culture shows the full range of human experience. The Nahuas (the Mexica included) were no different. Their emotional lives are recognizable and relatable.
5/
Aztecs weren’t exotic others or monsters—they were human beings. They loved, laughed, grieved, argued, dreamed. Every culture shows the full range of human experience. The Nahuas (the Mexica included) were no different. Their emotional lives are recognizable and relatable.
5/
Not two. The only ocean he cosmic one, upon which floated the sea-ringed world, built upon the back of the Earth deity once known as Cipactli.
The Nahuas called that single, unending sea "Teoatl" (wondrous / divine water) or "Ilhuicaatl" (heaven / sky water).
They could specify direction.
3/
The Nahuas called that single, unending sea "Teoatl" (wondrous / divine water) or "Ilhuicaatl" (heaven / sky water).
They could specify direction.
3/
February 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Not two. The only ocean he cosmic one, upon which floated the sea-ringed world, built upon the back of the Earth deity once known as Cipactli.
The Nahuas called that single, unending sea "Teoatl" (wondrous / divine water) or "Ilhuicaatl" (heaven / sky water).
They could specify direction.
3/
The Nahuas called that single, unending sea "Teoatl" (wondrous / divine water) or "Ilhuicaatl" (heaven / sky water).
They could specify direction.
3/
Here's the video version of "Pre-Invasion Nahuas and the Gulf of Mexico," which examines the presently popular meme about the Gulf of Mexico's real name being "Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl," for those who wanted to hear the Nahuatl names pronounced.
Pre-Invasion Nahuas and the Gulf of Mexico
YouTube video by David Bowles
youtu.be
February 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Here's the video version of "Pre-Invasion Nahuas and the Gulf of Mexico," which examines the presently popular meme about the Gulf of Mexico's real name being "Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl," for those who wanted to hear the Nahuatl names pronounced.
los nahuas siguen vivos
May 29, 2025 at 5:13 AM
los nahuas siguen vivos
Really interesting discovery at the Newberry Library, where one of their Nahuatl-language manuscripts turns out to have been made using by far the largest known example of a pre-Columbian Mesoamerica paper technology known as maguey paper: www.newberry.org/news/analysi... #paperhistory
Manuscript is Most Extensive Example of Maguey Paper in Existence
A collection of sermons by sixteenth-century Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagún is rare example from the Nahuas.
www.newberry.org
December 9, 2024 at 2:17 PM
Really interesting discovery at the Newberry Library, where one of their Nahuatl-language manuscripts turns out to have been made using by far the largest known example of a pre-Columbian Mesoamerica paper technology known as maguey paper: www.newberry.org/news/analysi... #paperhistory
Cinco de Mayo is Indigenous history. The battalion that helped defeat the French in Mexico was composed of Nahuas from Puebla called the Zacapoaxtlas. And the president, Benito Juárez, was a Zapotec who helped protect Mexico from Euro re-invasion, showing heroic examples Native resistance to Еυrope
May 5, 2024 at 5:49 PM
Cinco de Mayo is Indigenous history. The battalion that helped defeat the French in Mexico was composed of Nahuas from Puebla called the Zacapoaxtlas. And the president, Benito Juárez, was a Zapotec who helped protect Mexico from Euro re-invasion, showing heroic examples Native resistance to Еυrope
“You don’t get it, Cortés obviously didn’t only have the intent to kill the native peoples of Mexico & take their land. He literally made alliances w/ the Totonacs & Nahuas against the Mexica!” - Will Stancil, c. 1519
February 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
“You don’t get it, Cortés obviously didn’t only have the intent to kill the native peoples of Mexico & take their land. He literally made alliances w/ the Totonacs & Nahuas against the Mexica!” - Will Stancil, c. 1519
Revolutionary Nahuatl for 4/7/25
Before the Spanish Invasion, the Nahuas had choice words for unethical judges who bent the judicial system to their own benefit, eschewing the rule of law.
Before the Spanish Invasion, the Nahuas had choice words for unethical judges who bent the judicial system to their own benefit, eschewing the rule of law.
![The wicked judge shows bias, detesting certain groups. He is an unfair arbiter. He accepts bribes. He issues corrupt rulings. He acts with dishonesty and partiality. He begs for illegal gifts. He renders unjust decisions.
—How pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evil
magistrate [preserved in the Florentine Codex]
(The Nahuatl text accompanies the English text, but a text reader will be useless for that, so I'm not including it here. Apologies.)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yw3pwrmndigjcaiut233fres/bafkreieoelexxc5p47crbdszio6wapugfdhflmoxbchopr5eegwo5wlkhu)
April 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Revolutionary Nahuatl for 4/7/25
Before the Spanish Invasion, the Nahuas had choice words for unethical judges who bent the judicial system to their own benefit, eschewing the rule of law.
Before the Spanish Invasion, the Nahuas had choice words for unethical judges who bent the judicial system to their own benefit, eschewing the rule of law.
Meanwhile on Twitter:
Funny actual Nahuas people tried to explain they aren't extinct, nor is their culture and the author locked comments.
Funny actual Nahuas people tried to explain they aren't extinct, nor is their culture and the author locked comments.
January 29, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Meanwhile on Twitter:
Funny actual Nahuas people tried to explain they aren't extinct, nor is their culture and the author locked comments.
Funny actual Nahuas people tried to explain they aren't extinct, nor is their culture and the author locked comments.
Pipil warriors, nahuas from El Salvador in the late postclassic period.
November 11, 2024 at 4:33 PM
Pipil warriors, nahuas from El Salvador in the late postclassic period.
I compiled this thread into an article on Medium:
Pre-Invasion Nahuas and the Gulf of Mexico
You may have seen a meme suggesting that we start calling the Gulf of Mexico “Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl,” as that is what Indigenous peoples of…
davidbowles.medium.com
February 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I compiled this thread into an article on Medium:
A nuestra aristocracia criolla, sin sorpresa, le irrita, ofende la persistencia de las variantes nahuas como lenguas vivas.
Y peor será cuando en Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac o Chapultepec se enteren en qué lengua está escrito Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac y Chapultepec.
Y peor será cuando en Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac o Chapultepec se enteren en qué lengua está escrito Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac y Chapultepec.
February 25, 2025 at 9:55 PM
A nuestra aristocracia criolla, sin sorpresa, le irrita, ofende la persistencia de las variantes nahuas como lenguas vivas.
Y peor será cuando en Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac o Chapultepec se enteren en qué lengua está escrito Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac y Chapultepec.
Y peor será cuando en Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac o Chapultepec se enteren en qué lengua está escrito Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mixcoac y Chapultepec.
In rare (and thrilling) #paperhistory news:
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
Manuscript is Most Extensive Example of Pre-Columbian Maguey Paper in…
A collection of sermons by sixteenth-century Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagún is rare example from the Nahuas.
www.newberry.org
December 5, 2024 at 1:50 AM
In rare (and thrilling) #paperhistory news:
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
Also worth pointing out that just like the various Mayan people the Nahua, whose ancestors history oversimplify as 'Aztecs' are literally alive, well, and still in their homeland.
worldhistoryedu.com/who-are-the-...
worldhistoryedu.com/who-are-the-...
Who are the Nahuas? - World History Edu
Who are the Nahuas - and how did they influence Mesoamerican culture?
worldhistoryedu.com
August 7, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Also worth pointing out that just like the various Mayan people the Nahua, whose ancestors history oversimplify as 'Aztecs' are literally alive, well, and still in their homeland.
worldhistoryedu.com/who-are-the-...
worldhistoryedu.com/who-are-the-...
Nahuas in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish Invasion were already dealing with wannabe, shitty writers.
"In ahmo cualli tlahcuiloh yollohquiquimil, tecualanih, texiuhtlatih—tenencoh, tenehnencoh."
"The bad writer has a dull spirit, provokes and annoys readers—he’s a fraud, a cheat."
1/
"In ahmo cualli tlahcuiloh yollohquiquimil, tecualanih, texiuhtlatih—tenencoh, tenehnencoh."
"The bad writer has a dull spirit, provokes and annoys readers—he’s a fraud, a cheat."
1/
March 20, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Nahuas in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish Invasion were already dealing with wannabe, shitty writers.
"In ahmo cualli tlahcuiloh yollohquiquimil, tecualanih, texiuhtlatih—tenencoh, tenehnencoh."
"The bad writer has a dull spirit, provokes and annoys readers—he’s a fraud, a cheat."
1/
"In ahmo cualli tlahcuiloh yollohquiquimil, tecualanih, texiuhtlatih—tenencoh, tenehnencoh."
"The bad writer has a dull spirit, provokes and annoys readers—he’s a fraud, a cheat."
1/
ME: So how'd you come up with "Cortez the Killer"? How did you approach historical research on the Nahuas and their pre-Contact cultural byways?
NEIL YOUNG:
NEIL YOUNG:
December 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
ME: So how'd you come up with "Cortez the Killer"? How did you approach historical research on the Nahuas and their pre-Contact cultural byways?
NEIL YOUNG:
NEIL YOUNG:
Nahuas believed that at the beginning of this age, the gods had allowed themselves to be sacrificed so that Quetzalcoatl (in his form as Ehecatl, the wind) could transform their divine essence into a powerful gale that would set the weak new sun (Nanahuatl, later called Tonatiuh) in motion.
5/
5/
February 18, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Nahuas believed that at the beginning of this age, the gods had allowed themselves to be sacrificed so that Quetzalcoatl (in his form as Ehecatl, the wind) could transform their divine essence into a powerful gale that would set the weak new sun (Nanahuatl, later called Tonatiuh) in motion.
5/
5/
Revolutionary Nahuatl for 3/19/25
Book 10 of the FLORENTINE CODEX dedicates a paragraph in Nahuatl to the ways in which pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evil head-of-state. I was posting them one at a time, but the passage works best as a whole.
Book 10 of the FLORENTINE CODEX dedicates a paragraph in Nahuatl to the ways in which pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evil head-of-state. I was posting them one at a time, but the passage works best as a whole.
!["The wicked ruler devours people. He’s a monster, a demon. He’s a jaguar, a notorious wolf. He deserves to be abandoned far away, to be despised, for there is nothing in him worthy of note. He has a vicious heart and cruel face. His gaze spreads despair. He batters the Earth. He sows fear, spreads fear far and wide. Folks wish he were dead." —How pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evilhead of state [preserved in the Florentine Codex]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yw3pwrmndigjcaiut233fres/bafkreib6vir2tfrxnfxazzp4ymmjo2b6qqhyniyjdxxfso7lymzanx43dq)
March 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Revolutionary Nahuatl for 3/19/25
Book 10 of the FLORENTINE CODEX dedicates a paragraph in Nahuatl to the ways in which pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evil head-of-state. I was posting them one at a time, but the passage works best as a whole.
Book 10 of the FLORENTINE CODEX dedicates a paragraph in Nahuatl to the ways in which pre-Spanish Invasion Nahuas described an evil head-of-state. I was posting them one at a time, but the passage works best as a whole.