Archaeology has consumed me since the world history class I took in high school. What grabbed my attention was the recounting and pictures of various archaeological digs in Europe, The United States, and Mexico. Archaeologists had been able to piece together the lives and religion of early peoples by digging up their homes, burials, and middens.
After that history class, I spent my free time reading everything I could find in the library about archaeology, and by the time I was a senior, had decided archaeology would be my life's work.
That required a PhD in Archaeology if I was to be considered more than just an amateur, and after seven years of study, I submitted my PhD thesis describing my conclusions about early Native American religious culture after reviewing the evidence I obtained at a dig of a village site in Montana. My thesis was accepted, published, and later that year, I donned the mortarboard and gown of a professor and was awarded my degree. I was proud of the diploma that conferred to me the title of Dr. Tom Reynolds, Doctor of Archaeology
The next fall, I accepted a teaching position at the University of Illinois in Chicago. While this position sufficed to furnish an income, I knew I would drift off into the obscurity of academia if I did not continue to do research and publish articles in the various publications about archaeology To this end, I began researching the Aztec civilization.
Cortes conquered the Aztecs with one goal in mind -- to bring as much gold as he could find back to Spain. As a result, most of the contemporary writings were about military actions and the search for gold. Most written Aztec records were destroyed by the Spanish as being counter to the Catholic religion, and what few Spanish records that do exist are tainted by that same religion. Little was recorded about the Aztec way of life, and that would be the topic of my first paper as a full professor.
Not a lot of current data about the Aztec civilization existed in the published literature either. This was for one simple reason -- the rain forests of Central Mexico had quickly swallowed up the cities once the Aztecs fled the attacks by Cortes or died of the diseases the Spanish brought with them. It is difficult to study something if you can't find it.
A few cities had been found, most of which were the current sites of major cities in Mexico, but the descriptions in the Spanish texts spoke of many, large cities further into the interior which contained vast amounts of gold. Were I able to locate even one and excavate even a small portion, I'd have material about which to write and publish, and further excavations of even one site could provide me enough material for an entire career.
In doing my research, I came across the name of the Friar who accompanied Cortes as the chaplain of the expedition, one Fr. Bartolemé de Olmedo of the order de la Merced. Via the Internet, I was fortunate enough to find a copy of a letter he sent to the Abbot of his monastery. Of particular interest to me was Fr. Olmedo's recounting of Cortes' meeting with and subsequent relationship with Cuauhtemoc, the last known ruler of the Aztecs, in the city of Tenochtitlan, now the center of Mexico City.
According to Cortes, he conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521 and captured Cuauhtemoc while he was fleeing across Lake Texcoco with his wife and family. Cortes was so impressed by the young ruler's bravery in battle he did not kill him, but released him to go where he might.
Cortes then searched Tenochtitlan for the gold he believed to be there, but found less than he had anticipated. He subsequently recaptured Cuauhtemoc and tortured him in an attempt to learn the location of the gold of which he had been told by native informants.
Apparently Cuauhtemoc did give Cortes the information he sought, but Cortes kept Cuauhtemoc captive while he searched for the gold. It was during his search Cortes learned of a plot by Cuauhtemoc and two other minor Aztec rulers to kill him. As punishment, Cortes hanged all three in public as a lesson to any other would-be resistance.
During the hanging, Cortes became aware Cuauhtemoc's brother was attempting to incite the city residents to war. As Cuauhtemoc was the last of the three to be hanged, he was still strangling, but not yet dead. Cortes cut down Cuauhtemoc to avoid the uprising, and Cuauhtemoc lived.
Here is where the accounts begin to differ. Cortes' account reports Cuauhtemoc survived only a few more days and then died and was buried at Ixcateopan in the state of Guerrero.
Fr. Olmedo's version of the story was that Cortes agreed to allow Cuauhtemoc to leave the area under the threat of execution should he return. Cuauhtemoc left with his wife and family and went deep into the rain forest to a large city named Ixtlilxóchitl.
Fr. Olmedo believed Cuauhtemoc fled to Ixtlilxóchitl because he did not trust Cortes. The city was the location of a large repository of gold and was guarded by an elite force of Aztec warriors deemed too valuable to be lost fighting the usual battles with Cortes. He and his family would likewise be protected by these same warriors.
The location of the city was a closely guarded secret even among the Aztec rulers. Fr. Olmedo learned of it's location by sending a native assistant to secretly follow Cuauhtemoc's party because he had heard rumors of gold in the city and had other plans for that gold. He recorded the distance and directions in his letter to the Abbot in hopes the Abbot could arrange for another expedition to recover the gold for use by the monastery. As far as I could determine, that expedition did not happen.
Fr. Olmedo's story was more than plausible to me. Cortes was known for his lack of respect for the Aztecs. In one day, his soldiers slaughtered three thousand of them under his orders, yet he respected Cuauhtemoc enough to free him after capture the first time and might have done so again. Since Cortes had more than enough troops left to easily put down any insurrection by the remaining Aztecs, he had no real reason to save Cuauhtemoc's life in order to stave off another battle.
The true reason must have been his respect for the man. He hung Cuauhtemoc as a demonstration of Spanish power, cut him down to spare his life, and then sent him to safety. The story of Cuauhtemoc's death was just to show that even though spared, no man could resist the power of Cortes.
I wrote my research and conclusions into a proposal to the University for a grant to travel to the area, search for the city, and return with such items as I was able to recover. The information would bring fame to both me and to the University.
I was awarded a grant, though only enough for a very small initial expedition. It was promised that should I bring back conclusive proof I had found the city, a larger grant would be forthcoming.
After much planning, I determined I had only sufficient funding to allow one other person to accompany me. As soon as the grant was announced, I advertised for and received over twenty applications for the job of my assistant. Most were students working on a master's thesis who wanted some field experience. A couple were PhD candidates, but I didn't interview them. They were far enough along in the field to find a larger expedition fitting their subject of research.
I had looked over six applications and rejected them all when I found the application of Elena Mendez and I was pleased. As they say, "There is no greater joy in teaching students than to see the light come on in their eyes". Most students work hard and do well, but one can tell they are just learning by rote. Elena was the opposite. I had taught her in three classes, and in each, she delved into the subject matter as if it was knowledge that sustained her life. I saw that light in her eyes after nearly every lecture.
Elena also had skills I believed would be invaluable in my quest. I read Spanish, though slowly, and I do not speak it well at all. Elena was born in the US after her parents had immigrated here from Mexico, and she grew up speaking both Spanish and English.
The third reason for choosing Elena was her chosen field of study. Her reason for applying was to further her studies in the language of the Aztecs as the peculiarities of the language was to be the topic of her master's thesis. As she said when I interviewed her, the various pronunciations of the Aztec vowels and consonants had been described, but the syntax was still a mystery. If we were successful in locating Ixtlilxóchitl or any other ruins, she would copy the pictographs and use them in an attempt to determine the rules for the syntax of the language.
I confess there was a fourth reason as well, that being that Elena was quite a stunning woman. I did not let her prominent breasts, wide sensuous hips, long shining black hair and soft facial features influence my decision until after her interview, but those features did cement my decision. It would be more pleasant slogging through the rain forest with a beautiful young woman than with a sweating, cursing man.
We flew into Mexico City and stayed two nights at The Presidente Intercontinental in order to arrange transportation, a guide, and men to set up camp and carry supplies. I put our passports and my money in the hotel safe so they would not be lost or stolen on our expedition.
