Sources and Inspiration

As an artist's impression, a Portrait of Tenochtitlan relies on the works of other people.
The project draws from historical sources, such as firsthand accounts, maps, and archeological evidence. It draws from academic interpretations from historians, anthroplogists and archaeologists. It draws other artists who have been inspired by the same history.

Tomás Filsinger reconciles all natures of available sources and insights into a coherent map of Tenochtitlan, and has been doing so since 1985. His work and personal input has been instrumental in the making of this project. Tomás J. Filsinger 1985, 1992, 2012, 2018, 2021, ongoing. Maps of Tenochtitlan
Scott and Steward Gentling have studied Mexica history, and have brought it to life through sketches and paintings with an unmatched vibrancy and style. Scott and Steward Gentling. 1991. One Reed Year / Views of Tenochtitlan (multiple paintings, sketches, and documents).
José María Velasco provides a rare glimpse into early-industrial Mexico, and shows us the valley with parts of the lake still intact. José María Velasco Gómez, 1870's. Valle de México (multiple paintings)
Diego Rivera, 1945. La Gran Tenochtitlan (mural at Palacio Nacional de México)
Paul Guinan and David Hahn, ongoing. Aztec Empire (webcomic about the Conquest of Mexico)
The countless nameless Mexica artists who captured their society in art, of which only those fragments remain that have not been destroyed.

Mundy, Barbara E. 2018. The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City. Austin: University Of Texas Press.
Michael Ernest Smith. 2012. The Aztecs. Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, Ma: Wiley-Blackwell.
Gutiérrez, Gerardo. 2015 Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Origin and Transformation of the Last Mesoamerican Capital City. In Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, 4000 BCE - 1200 CE, edited by Norman Yoffee, pp. 491-512. The Cambridge World History, volume 3. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Rojas, José Luis de. 2012 Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztec Empire. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Diaz del Castillo, Bernal. 1963. The Conquest of New Spain. Translated by John Cohen. London, England: Penguin Classics.

Unknown. Plano Parcial de La Ciudad de México (Plano En Papel de Maguey). Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Dr. Eusebio Dávalos Hurtado, 16th century.
Friedrich Peypus. Map of Tenochtitlan (Neuremberg Map), 1524
Unknown. Mapa de Uppsala (Santa Cruz Map), Tenochtitlán. ca. 1550.
Filsinger, Tomás J. Maps of Tenochtitlan. 1985 - ongoing.
Calnek, Edward E. "Settlement pattern and chinampa agriculture at Tenochtitlan." American Antiquity 37, no. 1 (1972): 104-115.
González Aparicio, Luis. “Plano Reconstructo De La Region De Tenochtitlan Al Comienzo De La Conquista.” Tacubaya :Diréccion de Géografia y Met., 1968.
García Conde, Diego and Mogg, Eduardo, "Plano General de la Ciudad de México". 1811
Mundy, Barbara E. “Mapping the Aztec Capital: The 1524 Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan, Its Sources and Meanings.” Imago Mundi 50, no. 1 (1998): 11–33
OpenStreetMap and contributors, 2022. Map data from OpenStreetMap, https://www.openstreetmap.org.

Barrera Rodríguez, Raúl: El Programa de Arqueología Urbana (2013–2014), in: Arqueología Mexicana, Edición Especial 56,
López Luján, Leonardo: El Proyecto Templo Mayor (1991–2017). Recuento de cinco lustros de actividades, in: Eduardo Matos Moctezuma and P. Ledesma Bouchan (eds.), Templo Mayor: Revolución y estabilidad, Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2017a, pp. 35–57
Barrera Rodríguez, Raúl: El Programa de Arqueología Urbana (2013–2014), in: Arqueología Mexicana, Edición Especial 56, 2014, p. 70
Torres Alves, Gina: Reliability Analysis of the Nezahualcoyotl Dike in the Aztec City of Tenochtitlan, 2018
Cordova, Carlos E. The lakes of the basin of mexico dynamics of a lacustrine system and the evolution of a civilization. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022.

During the process the following people helped me by aggregating sources and providing feedback (chronological order):
Paul Guinan
Michael E. Smith
Ian Mursell (mexicolore.co.uk)
Gerardo Gutierrez
Barbara E. Mundy
Tomas Filsinger
Patricia Murrieta-Flores
Mariana Favila Vázquez
José Luis de Rojas
Israel Hinojosa Baliño
Enrique Ortiz
@Lycaones
Gina Torres-Alves
Oswaldo Morales Napoles
Aldo Sauza

If you notice anything missing or incomplete, please get in touch via tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl