Moctezuma’s Children: Aztec Royalty Under Spanish Rule, 1520-1700 . By Donald Chipman. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. Pp. xxiii, 200. Illustrations. Tables. Maps. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $45.00 cloth.
ing and combining these metals as alloys, are associated with cosmological gestation, the importance of "seeds" that contain germs of life, bees as agents of fertility, lost-wax casting techniques, body ornaments, systems of matrimonial exchange and long-distance trade, and votive offerings. All of these aspects attest to beliefs that metals' magical powers can ensure social survival and existential identity. Both of these papers offer exceptional glimpses into the tremendous complexity, intellectual depth, and metaphysical richness of Amerindian systems of thought.