Field's 'Aztec World' exhibit explores every layer of the massive empire

After more than four years of planning, 200 years of history are on display at the Field Museum. "The Aztec World" shows the explosive rise and fall of the Aztecs, who went from a small tribe that settled around a lake to the center of Mesoamerica, exacting tribute from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.

While guests might be most familiar with the accounts of the Spanish conquistadors about the Aztecs' penchant for human sacrifice and the opulence of the ruling elite, the exhibit seeks to explore every layer of the ancient society by displaying more than 244 objects, many of which have never been seen outside of Mexico. The result is a mix of monumental and imposing sculpture, ornate jewelry, dull stone and vibrant colored pottery.

The tour begins by looking at the lives of the farmers who sustained the massive empire. The Aztecs made the most of the available land by building terraces on mountains to plant in the fertile volcanic soil and raising land from the swamps. The farmers had their own religious rituals, often making sacrifices to the goddesses of streams and maize or quail and their own blood to ensure good harvests.

The exhibit also shows where food would be sold at the great market at Tlatelolca, which was unrivaled by anything in Europe at the time. The display shows some of the goods that would have been sold and crafted including obsidian masks and blades and creepy flint knives ornamented with toothy grins and eyes. Large quantities of shells, bones and antlers were brought in, crafted and buried as tributes to the gods because the remains of living creatures were thought to imbue objects with supernatural power. Not a purely trade economy, cacao beans were used as currency, making hot chocolate akin to drinking money, a luxury reserved for the truly elite.

Along with devoting more focus to the common members of the Empire, the exhibit also strives to show the roles of women. Portrayals of them go hand in hand with Aztec warriors as childbirth was compared to fighting a battle, and the women who died giving birth were believed to travel with the sun along with the captured warriors who were sacrificed to ensure the continuing balance of the universe. Women are also shown in their roles as priestesses, especially for important female deities.

But it's impossible to deny the role of bloodshed to sustain the empire both through battles in this world and the spiritual realm. Warriors were responsible for capturing sacrifices and securing tribute to the empire, keeping in fighting shape through dance and sports. Sports also served a ritual purpose, where the losing team was sacrificed. The sun was believed to feed on human hearts, and the emperor was expected to offer his own blood as sacrifice. There are sculptures of the intimidating god of the underworld with exposed ribs, talons and a skull face and perhaps the most frightening Aztec god, Xipe Totec, whose initiates wore flayed skin for 20 days.

In the end revolt and disease from the Spanish toppled the empire. However, their culture persists in modern Mexico, not just in the artifacts that mark their memory today.