Survival of pre-Hispanic Objects of Rank Among Colonial Nahua Nobility

Abstract

In spite of the wide adoption of European apparel and attempts of indigenous nobility to gain foreign attributes of rank, there is evidence of the persistence of native dress and insignia in early colonial reality. The paper explores extant data that reveal the survival of pre-Hispanic symbols of rank, including both inherited and contemporarily manufactured objects, and focuses on the contexts of their use. An important part of this phenomenon was the continuation of precontact terminology related to prestigious items, that coincides with the persistence of traditional titles of nobility and offices, which were gradually adapted to new forms of sociopolitical organization.