Aztec architecture

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

Aztec architecture. A people who settled on the island of Texcoco c.1325, the Aztecs soon came to dominate Meso-America in what is now Mexico. The previously dominant people, the Toltecs, built storeyed pyramids adorned with fearsome sculpture, and the Aztecs seem to have adopted their architecture, adding the double pyramid to the repertoire of building types. Their capital, Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), and the city of Cholula were adorned with pyramids and temples. The surviving pyramid at Tenayuca (c.1450–1500) has a steep stair on one side, and rows of sculptured serpent-heads on the base on the three other sides. An early C16 pyramid at El Tepozteco and the rock-cut structures at Malinalco of the same period represent the chief architectural remains. Aztec architecture inspired the Art Deco style.

Bibliography

Cruickshank (ed.) (1996);
Gendrop & and Heyden (1986);
Kubler (1984)

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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Aztec architecture." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Aztec architecture." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Aztecarchitecture.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Aztec architecture." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Aztecarchitecture.html

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