ABSTRACT
Deborah Nichols and Ryan Collins explore cases of collapse, adaptation, and persistence in the history of the Mexico basin. Focusing mainly on the periods surrounding Spanish invasion, they examine the multiple factors that led to the dissolution of the “Triple Alliance,” or Aztec empire. They show how epidemics, internal politics, ecology, and other factors resulted in waves of depopulation and other fragilities and explore some systemic structures and elements of Nahua life that showed significant resilience and continuity even after the empire crumbled. Nichols and Collins provide a rich and detailed historical survey of the indigenous peoples of the region and remind us of the complex mechanisms that can be at play in collapse.
