Tribute Bearers of Ancient Mexico

       Let us imagine that we are in Mexico in the year 1515, a few years before Cortez conquered the country. We have joined a train of tribute bearers carrying bundles of paper from Tepoztlan, a village in the mountains beyond the Valley of Mexico. For weeks the people of Tepoztlan have been preparing tribute for the Aztec conquerors, especially the amatl paper (made from the bark of a tree), which will be made into books for keeping records. The carriers are loaded and start on the march to Tenochtitlan, the capital, that is now Mexico City.

       At last the caravan sights the great island-city and the carriers go at a dogtrot over the man-made causeway that connects it with the mainland. Around the edge of the island farmers paddle their canoes among the tiny farms that are ''floating'' gardens - huge flat baskets of earth supported by wooden piles. The roots of the plants reach the bottom of the shallow lake and anchor them in place. Small farmhouses appear amid the greenery.

       There are no roads except the three broad causeways that lead into the city, but canals make streets for boats. As we travel farther into the city, we begin to see larger homes plastered white or dull red. Our causeway becomes a main street. Everywhere groups of people promenade or sight see, and an important man saunters by sniffing a bouquet of flowers as is the custom. Through the crowd the procession of bearers threads its way, each man carrying his load on his back because there were no wheeled carts in old Native Mexico.

       In the center of town the buildings give way to a great open plaza where stand tall pyramids topped by temples. Here we leave the carriers with their tribute and take the highway leading to the north end of the island and another great communal square. This one is a market where merchants have piled their vegetables in brilliant patterns on woven mats. There are tomatoes, squash, beans, chili peppers, and, from the lowlands, avocados, and pineapples. In the arcade that surrounds the market more merchants are carrying on a lively business, bartering with the customers because there was no money (cacao, or chocolate, beans were sometimes used as a means of exchange).

       Two boys see a vendor asleep and are trying to steal a piece of fruit, but they don't notice the juvenile officer behind them ready to make an arrest. Over there are stacks of cotton mantles, but two women have chosen the same one and are fighting over it. A little boy in the pottery market is howling. He put a jar over his head to see if it would fit. It fitted so well that he can't get it off. His mother is scolding and pulling at the jar so hard that his feet scarcely touch the ground. The merchant watches calmly. The jar is costly. No matter if it is broken, he will be paid. Right in the middle of the market a barber is cutting a man's hair with a long stone knife made of obsidian, or volcanic glass.

       In the flower section zinnias, dahlias, marigolds, and cosmos make masses of color. Canoes filled with fish are being unloaded at the end of the canal, and the smell of fish mixes with the odor of flowers and fruit.

       People crowd the market, and the broad street leading into it teems with more people pushing and jostling their way in. A steady hum of voices fills the air as the bargaining goes on. We go out of the city by the northern causeway, leaving behind the sounds and smells of the market place.  

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