The Echo of Voices after the Fall of the Aztec Empire

Abstract

Abstract The recent quincentennial of the Mexica forces' defeat at the hands of a Spanish-led coalition invites us to reflect on the changes in the region's acoustic ecology, the layers of sound that reverberated across geographic spaces. Expressions of sound allow us to consider the actions of past actors in relation to their physical surroundings, the stimulation of the senses, and patterns of religious conversion that guided social behavior. Vocal sounds produced by people of various ethnic and racial backgrounds formed part of this aural environment, and they carried meaning that has often escaped the attention of scholars. An analysis of routines of indoctrination centered on vocal modulations reveals that authorities hierarchized different forms of sounds, from singing and praying—which they encouraged—to screams and muffled noises such as murmur and chatter—which they attempted to silence. These routines took shape during daily masses, theater presentations, civic and religious rituals, confession, and, in some cases, formal training.