Check out A People's History of Native America here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJ4Ldy-hLQ In ancient Mesoamerica, an elite class of merchants helped build the Aztec Empire. How? By mastering the arts of spycraft, disguise, and self-sacrifice. These Pochteca acquired plenty of wealth and status and they traveled between cities to collect tribute, trade for valuables, and most importantly work undercover to gather information. But this wealth and power sometimes came at a deadly cost. Where exactly is Aztlán located? Is it a physical place or an ideological construction? Here is what we are listening and reading. Creating Aztlán : Chicano art, indigenous sovereignty, and lowriding across Turtle Island, by Dylan A. T. Miner Smith, Michael E.. The Aztecs, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2011 Tales from Aztlantis (podcast) A note from the producer: The visual representation of Indigenous peoples in this episode relies heavily on the imagery contained in The Florentine Codex which was created by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1499--1590), a Franciscan missionary who arrived in Mexico in 1529, as part of the Spanish colonial project. Sahagún purported that he worked with Indigenous community members to ensure the accuracy of the imagery and that some of it was actually created by those community members. Sahagún’s claims are accepted by some scholars and disputed by others. It cannot be independently verified. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateORIG ***** Rogue History It’s been said that history is written by those in power. But what about the outlaws, outcasts, and rogues? What if they had their say? Rogue History, a digital series produced by PBS Digital Studios and PBS North Carolina, shakes the dust off the history books to unravel myths, unearth narratives, and discover fresh perspectives. Subscribe to PBS Origins so you never miss an episode! null And keep up with Rogue History and PBS Origins on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBSDigitalStudios/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pbsds Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pbsds Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:22 Who were the Mexica 01:41 Pochteca, Merchant Ppies 03:17 Imperial Martyrs 04:22 Nose Lord 06:18 Warrior's Death