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Fifth Sun
Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs | Camilla Townsend
8 posts | 5 read | 8 to read
"Five hundred years ago, in November 1519, Hernando Cortes walked along a causeway leading to the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with Moctezuma. That story--and the story of what happened afterwards--has been told many times, but always from the point of view of the Europeans. After all, we have been taught, it was the Europeans who held the pens. But the Native Americans were more intrigued by the Roman alphabet than the Spaniards ever knew. Unbeknownst to the newcomers, the Aztecs took it home and used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Until recently, these sources remained obscure, only partially translated, and almost never consulted by scholars. For the first time, in Fifth Sun, the history of the Aztecs is offered in all its complexity, in an account based solely on the texts written by the people themselves. The Aztecs suddenly appear as real people, rather than the exotic, bloody figures of stereotypes. The conquest is neither an apocalyptic moment, nor an origin story launching Mexicans into existence. This book presents the story of Native Americans who had a history of their own long before the Europeans arrived and who used their talents to survive when the worst of times came upon them. It shows people who realigned their political allegiances, accommodated new obligations, adopted new technologies (such as alphabetic writing and European paper), and carried on. This revisionist history of the Aztecs explores the experience of a once-powerful people facing the trauma of conquest--as well as their survival and continuity--offering an accessible and humanized depiction of a civilization for experts and non-specialists alike."--Provided by publisher.
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Purpleness
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“Libraries are generally thought to be very quiet places…. Another way to think of a library, however, is as a world of frozen voices, captured and rendered accessible forever by one of the most powerful human developments of all time—the act of writing.”
A beautiful view of libraries, but I have to add that if the author thinks of libraries as only figuratively noisy, they‘ve never been to storytime or the teen section mid-afternoon!

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Purpleness
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“The quill moving over the paper made a faint scratching sound, then almost a squeak as the pen was pulled backward suddenly at an odd angle to cross out a word.” #firstlinefridays

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Lindy
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Some parts of this audiobook are almost too heart-wrenching to bear: descriptions of Spanish conquistador atrocities in the country that is now Mexico. Still, it‘s a solid history that‘s drawn from historical accounts written by Indigenous people themselves. Christina Delaine reads the #audiobook and she helpfully spells Nahuatl names after pronouncing them.

43 likes3 stack adds
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Lindy
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His [Chalca] ancestors hadn‘t liked it and had come to sing a protest song. Now the Spaniards were behaving comparably. They were abusing the power fate had given them, apparently without any shame. Once again, a song, a hymn that said implicitly ‘we know this is wrong and you do too,‘ was the only weapon available.
(Internet photo)

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Lindy
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Still #audiocrafting, but I‘ve moved on to the tagged title now. Yesterday I spread out my quilt pieces to see what needed doing. The pieces with a yellowish background (created during an online Malian mud dye workshop) have now been overdyed in cochineal.

Heideschrampf Wonderfull! 3y
Lindy @ravenlee Since you asked... 😊 3y
See All 18 Comments
LeahBergen Wow! That‘s stunning! 3y
llwheeler That's so beautiful 3y
squirrelbrain That is gorgeous! And, I spy a 🐿! 3y
ravenlee Oh my goodness - your work is stunning! Thank you for sharing. (edited) 3y
Come-read-with-me Wow! This is amazing!! I like to use staples, glue, and tape in my quilting projects! 🤗 You are truly talented! 3y
Lindy @arubabookwoman Here‘s the rest 😊 3y
Lindy @Come-read-with-me 😂😂😂 3y
arubabookwoman Thx. Those are fabulous, individually and together! Is the third from left bottom row, looks like a fingerprint stitched or printed? 3y
Lindy @squirrelbrain good 👁! I‘m considering an addition to that square: either I‘ll carve a little acorn stamp to surround the squirrel, or else I will couch stitch a circlet of spruce-dyed yarn around it. 3y
Lindy @LeahBergen @llwheeler @ravenlee I‘ve used a lot of different techniques for printing on fabric to create these squares. It‘s been a learning experience. 3y
Lindy @arubabookwoman it‘s a screen print of a cross section of a spruce tree. My quilt‘s theme is spruce trees and other inhabitants of my garden. 🌲 3y
batsy Um, I love your skills and talents!! 3y
Lindy @batsy Thank you ☺️ 3y
Centique This is so beautiful! 3y
Lindy @Centique ☺️thanks! 3y
48 likes1 stack add18 comments
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xicanti
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I made dal while I listened to some more of FIFTH SUN. It‘s interesting, but the narrator tends to deliver quotes in almost an undertone. Y‘all know I hate that. #audiocooking

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NotoriousMBG
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Pickpick

History of the Aztec (Mexica) people told using primary sources from the Mexica people. I studied Latin American History in college, so this was right in my wheelhouse. Very dense, but well-written and fascinating. Recommended for anyone interested in this topic.

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Caroline2
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BOOK HAUL!! Ok, I may have got over excited in Waterstones but it just felt sooo good to potter round a bookshop after all these months of being stuck in! Mount TBR be damned! What book buying ban?? Sorry, not sorry! BOOOK HAUUUL!!! 😃

Crazeedi I have Second Sleep on my tbr!! 4y
charl08 Such a lovely feeling, totally get that! 4y
Caroline2 @Crazeedi It sounds really interesting and different doesn‘t it. 😀 4y
See All 11 Comments
Caroline2 @charl08 It‘s the best! I‘m think buying books and reading books are my two favourite hobbies! 😁 4y
Crazeedi @Caroline2 yes, I've read this author and have enjoyed his books 4y
squirrelbrain Oh you‘ve been to a bookshop! (Puts on whiny voice) I want to go to a bookshop! So glad you had fun and ruined your TBR shelf at the same time! 4y
BethM Love it! 4y
Caroline2 @squirrelbrain So excited to read my new books but I am really liked Washington so far. How are you finding it?? 4y
squirrelbrain I‘m really liking it too. I‘ve actually read a lot today and not far from the end. Might not finish tonight as my FiL is coming round for dinner shortly.... 4y
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Book buying bans for me are just silly lies I tell myself and others. Deep in my heart I know my true self. 😂🤣😂🤣 4y
Nerdy_Bookworm That is awesome! I'm still waiting on my library to open so I can go on one last book buying binge before I move. Heck, I may even schedule an appointment for this very reason! 😊 4y
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